Break Apart These Chains Which Bind Us
by TheArchimage
Summary: Shigaraki Tomura, born with a dangerous and creepy Quirk better suited for a villain, enrolls as a new student at UA. The number one hero Monomyth takes him under his wing. Meanwhile the Quirkless classmate he left behind falls into darkness, inheriting a terrible power and a twisted idea of what it means to "save" people. Hero!Shigaraki & All for One, Villain!Deku & All Might.
1. The Qualified

Don't know when I'll add more to this or what kind of pace I'll keep, but the idea kept nagging at my brain so here it is. Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

I pull my shoulders and knees together to recapture some of my body heat. The temperature of the room has been set 2 degrees too cold, and I can't help but think that's on purpose. I am sitting in a plastic chair which has existed since before ergonomics was invented. My hands are in plain view on the table, left cupping my right. I deliberately do this so often my hands take this position without my conscious effort. It's necessary: people who know about my Quirk get nervous at the sight of my pinky and ring fingers. The cloth coverings are firmly in place on those fingers, forest green on the right hand and ashen gray on the left with black string securely tied between the first and second knuckles. There is no chance of both falling off at once, but I've found this doesn't do much to put people at ease.

The man in front of me is sitting in another chair of similar design and construction to my own, though his is missing a few jagged chunks of the backrest due to time and/or mischief. He is wearing a suit which only vaguely fits, the sleeves too short for his lanky build and the collar too wide. His eyes are bloodshot and he has heavy bags under them. There is a scar under his right eye. It takes mental effort not to stare at it. He thumbs through a set of manila folders, spreads them out like they were playing cards. By his expression he got dealt a lousy hand. "Hmmmm, can I have your name?" The tone of his voice indicates he doesn't particularly care.

"Shigaraki," I respond with as much confidence as I can manage. "Tomura Shigaraki."

The man's eyes narrow as he deciphers the kanji: 'death', 'grip', and 'tree' for Shigaraki, 'funerals' for Tomura. "Not a very heroic name," he mutters. He picks one of the folders out and places the rest of them aside. "My name is Aizawa, I'll be conducting your entrance interview. It's been a couple weeks since the entrance exam, but try to think of this as a continuation of it. This is something new we at UA are trying with this year's incoming freshman. We're trying to give people with great Quirks that are a bad matchup with the robots in the practical exam a fair shot, while also weeding out people with no potential before they get to the school." His face doesn't change but he suddenly looks much more menacing. "Guessing which category you fall into isn't worth any points."

Without waiting for a response he opens up my folder and peruses the contents. He nods his head and hums. I can't see what's grabbed his interest. "There was such a delay because we have different questions for each student, but we needed to balance that with the need to hold this interview quickly before your memory of the exam fades. We will ask you to think back on both the written and practical exam and put yourself in the same mindset you were in at that time. The first question I have is about the written portion. You ran out of room on the essay question and tried to write small to compensate: this did not work. Can you clarify what you meant by your response?"

I look down and to the side. My eyes fall on the stack of folders, I can only see the name on the top: "Shinso Hitoshi". I avert my eyes from it before I get distracted. "Remind me which question that was." I know very well the question he's referring to, but I need a moment to collect my thoughts.

Aizawa taps his finger against the sheet of paper. "Let's see… 'Describe the circumstances in which a hero would be justified in killing a villain.' You clearly had trouble fitting your response in the space provided."

"I did," I admit. "What I meant to answer was…" Deep breath. I stare at my hands while I speak. "A hero may l-legally use lethal force only to prevent imminent loss of life or serious bodily harm… um, when any or all potential victims are unable to safely retreat, _and_ no less extreme method of prevention is available. Let's see… 'imminent' means the danger must be immediate, not at some uncertain point in the future. A civilian who is able to safely flee is not in immediate danger; they must be escorted from the scene if possible. A hero with a Quirk which can disable the villain without killing them is obligated to use it before attempting to use deadly force. B-but that's about what's legal. The public doesn't like heroes who frequently maim or kill villains, even the dangerous ones. Even accomplished heroes like Overtkill have a hard time climbing the rankings because people don't trust them. And… I think killing a villain represents a loss to all society. A dead villain's Quirk can't be extracted and studied by the MIQR ('mike-er')… um, the Monomythical Institute of Quirk Research. So a hero is almost never justified in using lethal force. In my opinion." I swallow. "Sorry, just… the question didn't say whether it's asking about legal self-defense, public relations, or our personal feelings."

Aizawa patiently listens to my entire answer and hums when I finish. "Interesting," he says, though he doesn't sound interested. "You're right, the question probably should have said 'legally justified' to prevent rambling like that. Moving on. A dangerous Quirk like yours has to have a story behind it. How did you discover your Quirk?"

My hands clench around each other. I continue looking in the corner but don't see anything, my eyes lack focus and everything blurs. I wonder how much of the story I have to give before he'll be satisfied. "The first thing I ever decayed was my dad's left arm."

Aizawa's expression does not change but I can tell he means it when he says, "Sorry."

"It was a long time ago," I brush off, and it's true, it was more than ten years ago now. Dad never held a grudge about it. He said it was bad luck, could have happened to anyone, blah blah you know the drill. He's told me a thousand times since then that I shouldn't beat myself up over it. But it's hard to see that dangling empty sleeve and not take it personally. It's hard not to think, 'If I had waited a half-second longer the damage would have reached his heart. I almost killed my dad.' It's a lot of weight to put on a kid who could barely write his own name at the time.

"You don't have to say anything more," Aizawa sighs. "I can grasp the shape from your answer. Third question… and here's the meat of it." He sets the open folder down and pushes it toward me. "You had to have known this was coming. Because we definitely have to talk about the practical exam. Do you recognize this?"

I wince. On the right side (his left) is a type-written paper with numerous bullet points and check boxes. There are some marks and notes on it but I can't read either the notes or the paper itself from this far away. On the left side (his right) is a photograph of a lanky boy with pale blue hair, though one patch of it is marred red with fresh blood. He is standing in a field of cement rubble and metallic wreckage, clouds of dust billowing out all around him. He is wearing a hoodie and slacks, but the hoodie has a basketball-sized hole with burnt edges blown into the back of it. His back is visible through the hole; where the skin isn't red and peeling it's black and blistering. A streak of blood seeps down next to his eye and narrowly curves around the mole on his cheek. Only a fraction of the boy's face can be seen from the angle of the photo, but what is visible is terrifying. His eyes shine brilliantly and his smile rises painfully high on his cheeks in a way only the half-crazed can manage.

Of course I recognize it. It's me.

Aizawa notices me staring at the picture. I figured they would want to know about that. They had to have wondered what could make someone so deliriously happy at the very moment they blew the entrance exam for the most prestigious hero school in the country. Still, seeing myself in that state… it takes me aback. "So. Care to explain what happened?"

I close my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to focus on what happened the day of the practical.

* * *

We compared our tickets to one another, noticing each of us had a different number. "So we're all in different fields?"

"Looks like," Midoriya swallowed hard. "Th-they probably split up anyone who goes to different schools. So we don't make agreements to secretly cooperate or something."

"Like I'd ever help either of you!" Bakugo slouched past me, hands in his pockets. "If you can't hack it by yourself ya don't belong here. It's just too bad I couldn't personally take some of my competition out right from the gate, huh _Deku?!_ " He leered in Midoriya's direction, causing the green-haired boy to yelp and flinch backwards. "Go home before you get hurt! As for you, Tomura, don't you go getting any ideas either! I'm gonna be number one on this exam! If you score higher than me I'll kill ya!"

"You don't need to worry about that," I admitted. "I'll have to go full power just to pass, let alone top your score." Bakugo turned his head with a "heh!", satisfied that I accepted my place. It was not as though I was meek or scared of him, I was simply accepting reality. With or without our Quirks Bakugo would have the edge; he was stronger, more agile, and had much more combat experience. He also had a more versatile Quirk while mine was limited in application despite its high potential for damage. He may have been a big fish in a small pond but he was still a really big fish. If he wasn't born to a lower-middle class family he probably could have gotten a recommendation and skipped this whole rigamarole. Being in different arenas was a blessing; I'd have a much better chance of standing out if I wasn't hiding in Bakugo's shadow.

And then there was Midoriya, while we were on the subject of accepting reality. Honestly no one would blame him if he tapped out of the hero exam and went for general studies. He could probably make it; his grades weren't far behind Bakugo's. But if he could have recognized his own hopeless situation he wouldn't be Izuku Midoriya. He held his arms in front of his chest defensively and gave us a strained smile. "U-um! Good luck, you two!"

Bakugo scoffed, "I'd rather die than need luck from you!" He walked off toward his assigned battleground without so much as a farewell. Midoriya watched him go, visibly shuddering.

"Hey," I said. The sound made Midoriya scream. "Just do your best and stay safe out there, okay?"

"Y-yeah." He rubbed the back of his head and breathed out short wisps that I assumed were supposed to be a laugh. I guess it was too late for me to have any kind of camaraderie with him. I could only hope he took it to heart. I waved goodbye and went to my own staging area.

When I arrived there were a bunch of other kids already there, too many to get a good count of but not so many to not pick out individual people. Nobody I knew or recognized, which I guessed wasn't surprising. The doors to the field opened up, revealing a vast cityscape. According to the scenario we were heroes called to deal with a full-scale attack. There were no civilians left in the area but the attacking robots needed to be eliminated. All of us watched as the dust from the massive doors settled and waited for the "ready, set, go".

"In real life there are no countdowns," the announcer chastised. "The clock's ticking." Wait, what?! We all realized the test had already started at about the same time and flooded through the doors. As soon as I was away from the throng I pulled the strings on my left fingers and yanked off the coverings. Kids called them "finger condoms". Most adults didn't know what they were for and treated me with pity, figuring they must be to hide a disfigurement. Most of my classmates knew exactly what they were for and kept me at literal arms length just in case they failed. I only remember one time they ever slipped off, and that's why I covered two fingers on each hand instead of just one. This Quirk was too dangerous to ever risk a slip-up like that again. But now I had the chance to cut loose.

I turned a corner and came face to face with a test robot, one of the bigger 3-pointer ones. It tried to draw a bead on me but I was already running at full speed; I slipped behind it faster than it could follow and grabbed the back of its head. Immediately the metal rusted and cracked, the paint chipped and peeled, and a fine layer of dust began seeping out from between the seams. The robot shuddered once before collapsing, the head disintegrating into a pile when it smacked against the pavement. In an instant I was on the board with 3 points, but there was no time to dawdle. I had to manage my time well; close in fast, go for an instant kill, move on. Robots were vulnerable to my Quirk I only needed to put a hand on them for a moment to rot their bodies to the point where they would crumble. But unlike a lot of other Quirks I had to personally close the distance; I could not attack from afar. That was time another Quirk user could spend looking for more targets or steal my kill out from under me. That was fine, running speed and stamina were two of my strong points, but it also meant I couldn't lose focus or take the time to tally my points. I ran down an alleyway, away from the sounds of combat. Assists weren't worth anything, so I would have to strike off on my own.

After a while I actually started to have fun. There was a seductive rhythm to it, seek, destroy, seek, destroy. Smash as many robots as you can, protect the city, be a hero. I narrowed my thoughts down to that simple mantra. I honestly don't remember much of the exam; I moved like water, dismantling robots with a touch. If I had a moment to myself while I was searching for more enemies I thought about what I would say if I saw somebody who wasn't one of the other heroes. We had been told there were no friendlies or victims in the area, but someone could be missed on a sweep. No searching technique, technology, or Quirk was infallible. I would probably have them grab me around the neck and get them to an evac zone, as I had neglected to leave the coverings on at least one of my hands. Sometimes a wire or a stream of acid knocked out a robot I was aiming for and once some pretty boy ran past me and tapped me on the shoulder with an airy "thanks for the Quirk" but I don't see much of the other applicants. Until, that is, a wave of dust and debris flattens out a block of the city in an instant. Then I could see them around the edge of the clearing created by the destruction, vague shapes in the dust. But I didn't pay attention to them. After all, the massive shape rising in the middle of that cloud commanded all of my notice.

Even the largest of the other robots was maybe the size of a large car or small truck. This thing towered at several stories, each of its fingers as big as I was. Its head swiveled left and right, single large red eye striking menace into our hearts. Like the elementary school experiment of dropping soap into a bowl of water with pepper floating in it, the students immediately fanned out and away from the new threat. Caught up in the crowd I followed them. That thing was too dangerous for any one person to take on alone. That thought seemed out of place the moment it crossed my mind. I slowed to a jog, then a walk, then stopped entirely. I turned back toward the enemy, taking in what I was seeing. It crunched down the road towards the fleeing people with implacable ease, knocking over lampposts and crushing parked vehicles underneath its treads. It sheared off the top half of an office building with a wave of its left hand. It had miniature machine guns mounted on each side of its head and a massive cannon on its right arm; it could have easily mowed us all down but showed no interest in doing so. I realized it must have been programmed to only attack the city and not the heroes, but it would almost certainly fight back if attacked or if anything moved toward it aggressively.

I grit my teeth and ran toward the special enemy. This was a city. We had been told no civilians were in the area, but how much could we trust that? There may be a small child or a person left behind, trapped by falling debris or hiding in absolute terror. Should I ignore that possibility and save my own skin? Some hero I would be then! No, this thing had to be stopped. Maybe I wasn't much of a hero, maybe it was out of my league, but dammit I wasn't about to let this thing do whatever it pleased!

My Quirk could take out this enemy in one shot as long as I could corrupt the CPU directly. I had scrapped enough of the smaller robots to realize it was stored in the head. So I needed to bring the head within arm's reach, as fast as possible. But to get there I would have to run all the way up the arm and onto the shoulder. The whole way there I would be a sitting duck. I could not dodge without plummeting to the street below, I couldn't fly or jump up the rest of the way, and I doubted I could control the direction of my corrosion well enough to burrow underneath the plating and up the arm without destroying the floor underneath me. So the only way up was through. First, disable its movement. I ran right up to the robots side and slapped my left hand against the treads. In less time than it took to take a breath they cracked and corroded, turning from black to light gray and then to a fine silt. The enemy realized what I was doing and rotated its chassis to bring its massive left hand down on top of me. I darted out from under its palm and leapt to avoid the shockwave from the impact against the pavement, then planted my feet against the nearby building and kicked off back toward the hand. I latched onto the end of one finger and scrambled up, taking care to extend my left pinky to keep at least one fingertip off it so I wouldn't lose my handhold.

I didn't wait until I had a good footing; I jumped to my feet and ran up the wrist, studying its armor plating as I went. I needed a piece in a particular shape and size… there! Just at the start of the forearm I took a moment to kneel down and tapped my fingertips against the corners of one section of plating. The plate rusted in neat quarter-circles around where I imagined the screws holding it in place were; one solid kick loosened the plate, and two more uses of my Decay Quirk dislodged it entirely. Preparation complete, I hefted the armor plate and held it in front of me with both hands (extending my ring finger, because trust me when I say most of your grip strength is in your pinkie) as I charged up the arm. I was right on time; the robot's head turned toward me and opened fire. I had hardly taken three steps before I felt numerous tiny somethings slam into the armor plating, each impact numbing my arms a tiny bit. I grit my teeth and rushed forward, keeping more careful track of my footing than how many bullets were striking at me and whether or not they were training bullets or live ammo. You never knew with UA.

I passed the elbow and scaled half the upper arm when the hail of bullets finally stopped. I didn't have the presence of mind to be suspicious of this, and poking my head above the shield would have been a good way to get shot in the forehead. I would have realized its goal if I had stopped to think about it. Instead I was caught completely off-guard as something hard and heavy like a bowling ball slammed into my shield and knocked it away from my trembling fingers. I heard a loud explosion followed by a ringing in my ears, and a thick cloud of black smoke and a wave of oppressive heat obscured my vision. The cannon on the right arm; it must have used the heavier firepower to knock away the shield. As soon as the smoke cleared a tiny bit the head guns would begin firing again… and on the thin arm with unsteady footing there would be nowhere to run or hide. The smoke began to dissipate and I could make out the menacing shape of the robot's head; I had only a few seconds, not enough time to craft another shield. So there was only one way out. It was too late to take a deep breath, if I didn't want to inhale smoke I had to not inhale at all. I rushed forward, lungs burning, through the smoke and the last few feet to the head. I felt rather than heard the machine guns firing but I was too close now; the guns could not turn inward at a steep enough angle to reach me. I took a firm grab of the head in both hands and planted my feet. I grinned in satisfaction as I watched the green armor turn gray and begin to flake away.

Something collided with my back and sent me flying forward into the head, the gray section of the armor exploding into a fine powder from the shock of my body hitting it. The cannon! I had forgotten about the cannon! I smelled cooked meat and came to the nauseating realization that it was me. But I could still move. I had not lost yet! The concussive force of the blast had knocked away the corroded part of the head, leaving a convenient little cubby hole for me to crawl into. I dove in and shoved my hand as deep into the tangle of wires and servos as I could, finding purchase on I didn't care what. I held on as tightly as I could, even as I could feel but not see it lose all its integrity. The disintegration reached deeper inside the robot, and all I could do was hope it found its mark quickly enough.

After a few moments the machine stopped suddenly and I felt its torso buckle. The dying sounds of the machine were all around me. I was inside the belly of the beast as it gasped its last breaths. It creaked, it whirred, it shuddered, and finally it collapsed. The interior of the robot's head became choked with dust as the shock blasted apart the withered wires and circuitry. I kicked myself backwards out into the open air, but this was futile. Even here the clouds of dust were thick like a fog near the water on a cold winter day. I could hardly see anything around me and could not even tell how high up I was. I slipped on the robots shoulder, and when I grabbed onto it to keep from falling I did not have enough control to keep all five fingers from touching it. I cursed as my lifeline crumbled away and I fell.

I managed to twist myself in the air to land on my side and my head knocked against the asphalt, stars exploding in my field of vision. The cacophony as the robot collapsed around me was deafening, I wanted to cover my ears but my arms wouldn't move right. By the time I was able to get myself to my knees the rumbling and crashing had died down but I was still hearing an unceasing high-pitched whine. I bit back the bile threatening to crawl its way up my throat. I stood up and surveyed the wreckage. I was bruised and sore, lightheaded from the hit to my head, and with every move I made I could feel the skin on my back tear and crack. My eyes burned from the dust and every breath I took was agony but I felt alive. That damn robot wouldn't hurt anyone anymore, and I'm the one who took it down. Me! All by myself!

A moment later a buzzer sounded. A buzzer? Had backup from the pro heroes finally arrived? No, I realized with horror. That was the end of the exam. That was all this was, an exam. I had gotten so into the scenario I had forgotten I was not a hero, I was not responding to a call for help, I was in the middle of a test. Instead of trying to do what was right or protecting the city or its people I should have been following the rules. The rules that said all my effort, everything I did to take down this huge robot…

… was worth absolutely nothing.

All my adrenaline left me. My back felt like someone used meat cleavers to play a drum solo on it. The one saving grace is that the dust was so thick and choking I couldn't smell my own roasted flesh, but the pain was so unreal I could not consciously have that thought or any other which did not consist of horrid wailing. I collapsed in a heap. I tried to curl into a ball but it hurt so much I could not even move. I attracted a lot of attention, first with destroying the huge robot and now with my screaming. I could feel the presence of the other students around me but I didn't care. I couldn't care about anything.

* * *

"So why, is what we want to know." I'm in the interview room. Not even five seconds have passed since I first saw the photo of myself in that field of ruin, triumphant at what was clearly my worst moment. "Why did you throw yourself at that enemy? You had to have known it would take valuable time and energy away that could have been used to hunt other faux-villains. You even got banged up so badly Recovery Girl had to step in and fix your wounds. Why go that far when there was no value in doing so?"

Why indeed? I know why, but explaining it would hardly be in my favor. Still… I have to tell him. "I… I guess I got a little too caught up in the role."

His eyes narrow. "Could you elaborate a little on that?"

I sigh. Even when I was going over my reasons afterward it sounded crazy to me. It still sounds crazy. "You ever try role-playing games, Mr. Aizawa?" He shakes his head no. "In them you take on the role of someone other than yourself. You act as they would, even if they would do something you wouldn't. You can pretend to be smarter, cooler, and braver than you really are. I… was doing the same thing in the test. I imagined I was a hero responding to a crisis, not a student taking an exam. And what kind of hero would I be if I saw how dangerous that thing was and did nothing to stop it even in the middle of its rampage? I… completely forgot it was all a test. I wasn't paying attention to points. I saw an enemy, realized I could stop it when none of the other heroes were willing to try, and did what I felt I had to. That's all."

Aizawa stares at me for a long moment. His eyes bore into me and I can't match his gaze for long. I can't tell whether he is impressed or disgusted with my answer. "Hm," he says finally. The tone of his voice betrays nothing. He picks my folder back up and makes a note in it. "It's not a bad thing, to want to do good. But you can't lose focus on what's important. The last question I have is… would you prefer to have a different Quirk?"

I blink. I should realize what he's trying to ask but somehow it sounds like nonsense. "Huh?"

"You aren't stuck with the Quirk you have now, you know. The MIQR accepts trades. You can get a Quirk that's more suited to hero duty. You could be strong, or fast, or have some other incredible power. Someone else might find your Quirk to be better than the one they were born with, too. What do you think?"

Honestly, it's tempting. My Decay Quirk is extremely strong on offense but its activation is involuntary; that was a dangerous combination. A lapse of judgment or carelessness could easily kill someone I intended to save. Heaven knew I had enough nightmares of trying to catch someone falling and watching them disintegrate in my arms. But… "I'd like to keep the Quirk I've got for now. I get that it's creepy and dangerous and doesn't fit a hero image, but still… it's mine. There's lots of things it can do that other powers can't. So I'd like to see how far I can take it, rather than give it up before I start."

He studies me for a moment but he's got a heck of a poker face. I can't tell whether he's pleased displeased by my answer. "I see."

"Was that a part of the test, too?"

"Meh." Aizawa makes another mark on his sheet. "You weren't graded on whether you said 'yes' or 'no'. I wouldn't stress about it." He closed the folder. "That concludes the interview. Thanks for your time, sorry to make you come all the way down here for just a few minutes but that's all we needed you for. You can register complaints with the admissions board. Send in the next person on your way out, Shigaraki."

"Th-thank you, Aizawa-san." I stood up and left the interview room. The next person in line has wild blue hair and a resentful stare; I tell him he's next and he nods without a word. I walk out of the building with my brain still in a whirlwind. If it had gone well I could be excited; if it had been an extremely poor interview I could at least prepare myself for the inevitable result. As it was I can't say whether I did well or not. Aizawa is a hard person to read and I can't tell whether he liked or disliked my answers, though it was clear he disliked me personally. It's entirely possible I lie on the cusp between "UA material" and "not _quite_ good enough". It's a bad place to be.

* * *

The results come a week later. I am well aware of the adage, "thick envelope good news, thin envelope bad news". The envelope is thick but contains nothing but a video disc; I can't decide whether I should be happy or not. My parents insist on watching with me so we all sit on the couch together, dad on my left with his good arm over my shoulder and mom on my right leaning forward with only a sliver of her bum on the couch. The screen comes to life and all of us suck in our breath. On the screen is a masked man dressed head to toe in a blinding white bodysuit with bright red accent marks and a large gold "M" medallion on his chest. His mouth is the only exposed part of his body; it's shaped into a small but unshakable grin. A yellow cape flutters out behind him as though ruffled by an unseen breeze. This was a man anyone in the country if not the world would recognize on sight. The man never seen out of costume because he was always on duty to protect the innocent and bring evil to justice. The founder of MIQR who single-handedly created and nurtured the hero society we all live in. The greatest hero of all time, Monomyth.

"Greetings, Tomura Shigaraki," Monomyth says. "This may come as a surprise to you, but you will be among the first to know that I, Monomyth, will be joining the UA faculty as of this year. As part of hazing the newcomer-" His grin widens as he turns to address someone off camera _sotto voce_ "-what, you know it's true!-" before returning his attention to the camera. "-I was given the responsibility of recording this video detailing the results of your exams. Of everyone's exams, actually."

Dad is bouncing in his seat, eyes shining with child-like glee. "I really hope it's good news," he says. "A personal message from Monomyth! I want to keep this forever." I have to agree with him; it would be rough for such an invaluable keepsake, an heirloom we could pass on for generations, to detail the moment my UA dream ended. Mom angrily "Shush!"es both of us and we go back to watching.

Monomyth explains, "Your written exam, by the numbers, was adequate. However, we were really impressed by your response to the essay question. It revealed a keen mind that could analyze all the results and think on several wavelengths at once! That's a rare talent, and that pumped your score up. The practical exam…" Here he deflated. "You had a strong start but wasted a lot of time going after an opponent worth zero points. If you had kept going at your previous pace until the end of it you would have gotten enough points to make the cutoff. As it is… you fell a little short of what we wanted to see."

Getting chastised by the Eternal Hero himself brings it home. Mom lets out a long slow sigh. Dad squeezes my shoulder. Yeah, I should have expected that. UA was a bit too high for me to reach after all. Bakugo will be insufferable for sure and that's going to suck, but in the end I have no one to blame but myself.

Monomyth continues talking, and the tone of his voice is upbeat enough to rouse me from my disappointment. "However, in the interview it came out that you tackled the special enemy to protect the city. Treating the exercise as reality might show a lack of focus, but how could an institution dedicated to producing the very best of a generation of heroes turn away a student with such pure motives? We at UA recognize there is more to being a hero than simply defeating evil. Intangibles such as personality, ability to stay calm under pressure, dynamic tactics, and a selfless nature would all be lost if Villain Points were all that mattered. Therefore, a team of judges watches the exam closely and rates each participant on those factors and other factors, awarding points at their discretion. Thus: Rescue Points, the other half of being a truly exemplary hero. When those are factored in…"

Monomyth steps to the side to reveal two sets of numbers. The digits on the left are marked "Villain Points" and the right numbers are marked "Rescue Points". There's a 40 on the left and a 28 on the right. He spreads his arms wide, and his smile finally shows the tiniest hint of his teeth. "Young man. Allow me the great pleasure of informing you of your acceptance into the next hero class at UA."

Then Dad is shouting and Mom is crying and hugging me and I'm laughing so hard I can't breathe and the television drones on but no one is listening to a word Monomyth says because everyone is a bundle of firecrackers someone tossed a match into and it's real it's really _real_.

* * *

We celebrate by ordering takeout. Mom and Dad both leave to go pick it up because they're sure there's at least one person from school who'd want to know the good news. They're under the impression that I'm not particularly popular but I have a small circle of friends. Heh, too bad. I don't really have anyone at middle school I can talk to. They all steer clear of me, thinking that even with my finger protectors on I can still turn them to dust with a tap on the shoulder or a high five. The closest thing I have to a friend is Bakugo, who tends to grudgingly treat me as a worthy foe only because he recognizes that if we got serious I'd only need one hit to end him. Realistically I was unlikely to get that hit, but you know what they say about luck being a skill. When we were younger, right after my Quirk manifested, he was the only one who dared come close to me. He told everyone he wasn't scared of me even though I could disintegrate anyone or anything just by touching all five fingers on either hand to it. Looking back I think I'm the only classmate he had even the slightest respect toward: he had managed to bully every other kid out of applying to UA except Midoriya, who was too stubborn to take the hint. While me… well, he wasn't happy about it, but he seemed to think I at least deserved a fair shot. I have his cell number, so I give him a call. He picks up on the second ring. "So," he answers imperiously. "If you're calling to whine then save your breath. I don't talk to losers. How'd it go?"

"Much better than I thought," I say with a smirk. "Thanks to a little thing called 'Rescue Points'."

"Huh?!" He's shouting so loud I have to yank the speaker away from my ear. "If you only beat me 'cuz of some damn judges-!"

So, to absolutely no one's surprise he didn't get many rescue points. I puff out my chest in pride. "Forty villain points, and twenty-eight rescue points. That's a 68 in total."

"Bah-ha-ha-ha-ha!" His laughter is emotionally painful and strips my ego to the skeleton. I immediately regret getting so conceited. "Too bad! I got seventy-seven! I gotta be number one in the whole region, maybe even in the country! That's what you get for challenging me!"

"Damn, man," I say. Honestly it is really impressive, even for Bakugo. "How much of that was Rescue?"

"Zero!"

I boggle. "Wait, none?! As in, all of that 77 was villain points? How in the heck did you smash that many robots?"

"That's just the way it is when you're the best," Bakugo says like he's describing the weather. "I figured you'd be too scared to use your Quirk well. But hey, 68 ain't bad. You can join me at UA, Tomura, so long as you don't get any funny ideas. Don't forget who's on top and we won't have any trouble."

That was a real funny way of saying "Good job", but it was about as close to a congratulation as I was going to get from this guy. "What about Midoriya? Have you-"

"I don't need to call him to know he failed, obviously! What the hell's a Quirkless little nobody going to do against those robots, huh?! I don't want to call him, his whining and crappy attitude will drag me down and I don't wanna deal with that today."

Damn, he's harsh when it comes to Midoriya. But he has a point; you'd have to be an incredibly good fighter to scrap those robots without a Quirk, and Midoriya wasn't. Even if he had bulked up a little bit over the last year, it's not something a middle schooler could do easily. Maybe he could take down a few, but not enough to make the cutoff. Still, with Rescue Points in play it might not be completely impossible. He was the kind of plucky little guy that you know is going to fail but you hold out hope that maybe, just maybe, he'll beat the odds. "Just in case, do you have his number? I'd like to hear it from him."

"Why the hell would I have his phone number?" There's a pause. "Uh, actually, yeah, I think I do have it. If I haven't deleted it yet. If you're gonna do it I'll send it over to ya in a minute. Anyway, I'll see you at UA in the spring, classmate!" Then he hangs up on me. Man, when he says that word it sounds like mockery. Having to deal with him for three more years is not gonna be the best, but to study at UA it's a small price to pay.

My phone buzzes when I get the text from him a moment later. It's a phone number, no other message. I add it to my contacts and send a call, wondering if Midoriya would even pick up if it's an unknown number. The third ring cuts off in the middle and I hear a scratchy, "… 'lo?"

"Hey, Midoriya. It's Shigaraki. Me and Bakugo got our results from the UA exam. Did you hear back from 'em yet?"

I hear him breathing in and out through his mouth, but it's an uncomfortably long time before he responds. "Yeah." His voice is wet. He's trying to sound cheerful and it's not working.

"Oh. That bad, huh?" For some reason I try to make it sound joking. I guess I was hoping if I sounded casual it would take the sting out of it, but I immediately realize I sound indifferent to what must be a really traumatizing moment for him.

He breaths in and out through his mouth. His inhales are quick, his exhales shaky and ragged. I miss my chance to apologize. "… I got a zero on the practical."

I blink. "A… a zero?" That didn't sound right. Sure he couldn't have done much against the robots, but he had to have been able to take out at least one. Or failing that, he should have been able to pick up some Rescue points somewhere.

It all comes tumbling out with his sobs. "I tried. I tried so hard! I ran all around until my legs were sore. I beat at them with my fists until they bled but I couldn't make a dent in them. I had to be rescued from the villains over and over, making trouble for everyone. In the end I had to hide until time ran out. I couldn't get a single point. Even though it was for UA, I couldn't…!" What comes out next is a scream of anguish and utter, total defeat. It's hard, listening to him sob like this. Midoriya was always kind of a crybaby, but this is different. This is more than frustration or fear or grief. The image I get is, 'I'm listening to Midoriya die. His body might still move after this, but he'll be dead on the inside from this day on.' I don't think he can recover. What did not bend ended up broken.

In the end I don't tell Midoriya how Bakugo and I passed. I stay on the phone with him for ten minutes while he sobs and screams. He apologizes to me when he's done and says he'll see me at school tomorrow.

* * *

But I don't see him at school the next day. Or the day after that. Or ever again before the school year ends. His phone rings and rings and he doesn't pick up. Text messages go unreturned. Once I even visit his apartment, but his mother only shakes her head sadly. Midoriya goes the way of the NEET. It's sad, but there's nothing an outsider to his life can do. How can a hero save someone who doesn't want to be saved? Midoriya's fate leaves a bittersweet aftertaste in my mouth as I get ready to officially join UA as an incoming freshman.


	2. First Day

AN: Oh my god, I actually wrote another chapter of this!

Almost immediately after I posted the first chapter, a bit of headcanon I was relying on for the backstory was explicitly debunked by a manga chapter. That killed my interest in this story for a while, but I think I'm going to post as it comes and see what happens. I'm also using bits of more recent chapters for fodder here, so forgive me if there's a couple inconsistencies. This is always a danger when more canon backstory is being slowly revealed.

* * *

Today is my first day at UA and I feel like I'm going to puke.

When I come down to breakfast Masako gives me a thumbs up and tells me, "Don't get expelled on your first day!" Little troublemaker. My stomach's doing backflips so I don't even have a snarky response ready for her. I head out the door and hop on the train fifteen minutes early instead. I might need the extra time if I get lost or get off on the wrong stop.

I usually try not to look at people when I go out in public; I'm well aware my hair frizzes out of control and my face looks too old and dry to belong to someone about to start his first day of high school. All things considered I would rather not notice people staring at me. But on the train my eyes are drawn to a girl; it would be hard not to notice her UA high school uniform. Oh, I guess she's my classmate. She has a round face like she never lost any of her baby fat and a slight blush on her cheeks. To a casual observer she would look very soft, fluffy and pillow-like, but I can tell she's actually quite muscular. She must be one of those people who can never lose weight, getting denser but no less thick as they get stronger. She's looking at a city guidebook intensely, her eyebrows nearly touching from how much she's concentrating. The train jostles a bit and she grabs for the handrail reflexively; I can't help but notice she extends her index finger to hold herself steady with only four fingers. After that it's easy for me to see she's holding her book one-handed, yes, but she is very carefully not touching the book with her ring finger.

She blinks suddenly as if coming out of a daze and looks around her. She does a double-take after catching me staring. Uuuuuuuh, quick, say something! "Ours is the next stop," I tell her. She checks the marquee and confirms, yes, next is our stop. She looks back to me and notices the UA High uniform and emblem; her entire face warps into one of pure sunshine and she nods happily. She begins putting away her notebook as I elbow my way closer to the door.

As soon as the doors open both of us do not so much walk out of the car as we are spat out of it. We keep within sight of each other as we climb the stairs out of the underground and to the city proper, where the throng finally thins out enough for us to be friendly. I introduce myself with a nod. "Tomura Shigaraki, Class 1."

I don't see any hesitation in her smile when she makes a small bow. "Ochako Uraraka, also class 1! Wanna walk together the rest of the way?"

"Might as well," I shrug.

There are a few other students on the way to school, but none of them have our uniform. She makes small talk on the way, not at all disheartened by my monosyllabic responses. It isn't that I'm trying to be unfriendly, I'm just not sure how to handle someone this… bubbly.

"I still have trouble believing it," she says suddenly. "I mean, I thought for sure I was toast when I didn't get into my safety school, but to think I'm actually in UA… don't you think it's amazing?!"

"I know what you mean," I muse. "I can hardly believe it myself." This is putting it lightly. Even though it's been a couple months since I received that video from Monomyth it doesn't feel real. Like, the most elite hero school in the country and they let me in? Something about that feels wrong, like there must have been a mix-up where some other deserving kid didn't get in because I did. If they're going to find out I didn't deserve to be there after all it's going to be today.

"I mean… promise you won't laugh?" I nod, though only because it's hard to make me laugh to begin with so I'm fairly sure I can resist the urge. "I didn't really need to make it to UA. I just need a hero license, so I can use my Quirk for the family business. We, uh, I, grew up poor even though my parents work so hard, so I wanted to, you know, take some pressure off them."

Oh my god, she's so wholesome I can't stand it. It's not quite so cute as to be sickening, but my stomach does twist a bit. "Wow, you've already got the 'soul of a hero' thing down pat."

"Stop making fun of me!" she pouts.

"Nah, it's not that," I reply. "Compared to you, my reason seems awfully petty. I want to be a hero because people have been telling me for years my Quirk isn't suited for it. So I basically got here out of spite."

"That's not so bad as all that!" she reassures me. "Having a clear picture of what you don't want is sometimes as useful as picturing what you do want. That's what my mom says." Like I said, wholesome. Still I manage a half-smirk, to which she can only shrug her shoulders with a self-conscious smile on her face. "So no one thought you'd make a good hero?"

I face forward but I'm not seeing anything. "My dad," I say. "From the very start he's been my biggest fan. He didn't care that my Quirk was dangerous. He was always telling me to follow my dreams and never let anything stop me from being a hero." That's right, even though my Quirk first manifesting took away his arm for the rest of his life he never showed an ounce of anger or sorrow about it. I would rather die than say this out loud, but on some level I always felt like I had to become a hero for his sake.

The rest of our walk is uneventful. It gives my stomach a chance to settle, but that only makes me regret running out the door without even a slice of toast. The school building is improbably designed to look like a giant capital "H". My first thought is how much it would suck to get to the top floor only to realize you were in the wrong spire, meaning you'd have to walk halfway back down the building to get where you need to go. I'm suddenly very glad it's the teachers who switch classrooms around to teach different subjects and not the students who have to hunt down which room in this giant complex they're supposed to head to next.

When we get to our classroom it seems about half the class is there already. In this society of Quirks it's hard to say what counts as "normal" and what doesn't, so when I say no one really stood out I don't mean it is a classroom of boring-looking people. If there is one thing I can say about my new classmates, it is that none of them look like generic NPCs. Bakugo is here already, and it looks like he's making friends the way only Bakugo can. "I'm gonna be number one," he's telling a boy with half red and half white hair. The other boy looks like he does not a single shit, and I can tell this is pissing Bakugo off. A boy, bigger than most men I've seen, pulls Bakugo away before it can get any worse. I turn my head and pretend not to know this psycho.

Meanwhile Uraraka points at a kid with wild blue hair. "Fuzzy head!"

He blinks. If blue-hair guy takes offense to the nickname he hides it well. "Ah, it's you. Hitoshi Shinsou, we didn't get the chance to exchange names. You doing alright?"

"Thanks to you! Oh, I'm Ochako Uraraka!" She bows and in doing so clips my shoulder. This apparently reminds her of my existence. "This is Tomura, we met on the train ride here!"

Our eyes meet and I remember where I've seen this boy before. "You were at the interview," I say. "You went after me."

"Ah," he says in recognition. "Small world. 'Tomura', she said. Nice to meet you, I'm guessing you were close to the cutoff too if they made you talk to that guy."

I reply, "I got distracted and wasted time on the special enemy. Without Rescue points I'd have been done for. My total score was 68."

He nods. "Mine was sixty, all Rescue. I think I just barely squeaked by, my Quirk isn't suited for fighting robots."

Uraraka leaps to his defense, "Yeah, but it's crazy strong! It's some kind of leadership power, because one minute everyone was running away from the special enemy and the next a whole bunch of people came back to distract it while Shinsou got me to safety. It was a really close call!" Hm, a Quirk that affects others but isn't much use against robots directly? Sounds like he's a buffbot, a vital member of the team but weak in solo play. No wonder he struggled to get points.

"It was a team effort," he shrugs. "I owe those guys a lot for their help. It was fortunate none of them got hurt. We couldn't destroy it, though. How'd you manage against it?"

Honestly, even though I can recall the scene vividly I don't want to tell them. It would sound too much like bragging. "Let's just say my Quirk is a little too well-suited for fighting robots." I realize as soon as I say it that I still sound full of myself. I hold up a hand to stop the inevitable questions. "I'll show you. Lend me something you don't mind not getting back." Shinsou looks at me dubiously but hands over a pen cap. I take a deep breath as I pull the cloth off my right pinky and ring fingers. I pick up the pen cap, careful not to touch my ring finger to it. "Now you see it…" The last finger brushes against it as light as a feather. Almost immediately it cracks and splits. I blow on it and it explodes into something less than smoke. "… now you don't."

Uraraka's mouth is wide open. "Woooooaaaaah… that's super weird! Hey, my Quirk works like that too! If I touch something with all five fingers it starts floating! No wonder you have those finger things, it would be no joke if you accidentally grabbed someone and did that to their arm!"

I try not to flinch when she says "arm", mostly failing. I replace the covers on my fingers with practiced but shivering hands. "Floating away doesn't sound so fun, either. Though you're right, Decay would be worse to get hit with."

A tone rings out through the room and echoes down the halls. A tall boy with glasses strides up to us. "That was the bell to begin homeroom!" he tells us, half-shouting. "All students are to find their seats and prepare to begin!"

Another boy with blond spiky hair scoffs at that. He was not there when I came in; while I've been talking it seems all the other students have arrived. I guess there's about twenty kids in the class, though I wasn't about to start counting to make sure. "That's only if we actually have homeroom," he says with a shrug. "There's nothing wrong with goofing off a little if the teacher's gonna be a late."

"Get to your seats, homeroom starts exactly on time."

The voice comes from above us and we all look up. There is a lump stuck to the ceiling which looks like a cocoon. As we all watch one end detaches itself and the lump slowly descends, lowering itself by a white thread latched onto the ceiling. It lands behind the lectern and the thread releases its hold, pooling around the fallen cocoon. Only once the lump splits open with the sound of a zipper do I realize it's a sleeping bag. A thin man in a black jumpsuit and wild unkempt hair extracts himself from his shell. Despite being reborn he looks very aged and tired. He flicks his wrist and the white thread spools itself loosely around his neck. He coughs to get everyone's attention, as if he did not have it already. I don't recognize the outfit or the hair, but I do remember the tired eyes and the scar on his face. It's Aizawa, the man who gave me my interview. I grit my teeth at my own bad luck. Why did it have to be this guy?

"Welcome to your first day at UA," he says, unconcerned with the troubled faces in the classroom. I guess I'm not the only person who had a bad experience with him. "Over the next three years, you'll be learning how to be a top-performing, top-earning hero. Not just fighting or rescuing people, you'll also get a solid background in branding, public relations, and how to avoid legal entanglements." He taps the lectern thoughtfully. "One thing I ought to warn you about. UA is a bit different from normal high schools. Our hero program is designed to make you the best pro heroes in the business. That means our curriculum is laser-focused on that. We will provide you with the bare minimum requirements in math, history, and other subjects to meet federal standards, but that's all. Everything else we teach you will only be because it relates to being a pro hero in some way. Learning how to read the classics won't help you as much as learning how to evaluate potential sponsors, or the proper procedures for emergency first aid, or how to defend yourself in close combat with a villain. Because of that, at the conclusion of your time here you will be unsuited for work outside of the pro hero field. If you don't plan on a hero career, there's still time to hit the registrar's office and transfer out to general studies. Because if you can't become one of the best pro heroes in the world after graduating, you will have wasted our time, your time, and your life.

"I trust you remember the interview, and you all recognize me. That's right, I conducted each and every one. It was a huge pain, but they decided this was better than me expelling an entire grade. Like what happened last year." He gives us a moment to let that sink it. "Look around campus sometime, you won't see a single second-year student. You're looking at the reason why. Remember that if nothing else; I am the law, and I won't hesitate to tell you to pack your bags and go home if you fall behind or can't cut it." He sighs as he takes in the terrified looks we all have. "But also remember, not a single one of you would be here if I didn't think you had potential. There were more than a couple prospective students I personally axed due to their limited quirks, their poor mindset, or other personality problems. Don't disappoint us."

* * *

What he said was true; most of our classes are geared toward making us into better heroes, at the expense of making us worse citizens. The bulk of History class will be focused on the age of Quirks, starting with Destro's birth and continuing on through the age of chaos until the first appearance of Monomyth fifty years ago. Math will be a grueling sprint, giving us the grounding we'll need to study Physics almost exclusively in our second and third years. English is a major requirement, as befitting heroes intended to go international. Extracurricular clubs, like Chess or Art, are strongly discouraged. I am beginning to see Aizawa's warning for what it is; this is what it takes to be a top-level hero. Knowledge about the Warring States period won't come up in the day-to-day life of a hero, but knowing how much force you can legally use to bring down a purse-snatcher will. I understood that on some level before, but only now do I realize what it means. For the next three years all of us will eat, sleep, and breath heroes.

Oh, and there is one other major difference. A hero academy would not have just any old PE class, but a class where we can use and experiment with our Quirks to the fullest extent. This is the class Monomyth teaches. There is a moment of reverent silence when he comes in the door, walking normally but with a weight and gravitas only he can manage. He used to show up at events and in public without his costume a lot, but he stopped doing that a few years ago. Now he's in the costume 24/7, or at least he's never seen without it. He might take it off when he's at home, but somehow I doubt it. One time Izuku mentioned his body looked sculpted; now that I'm up close and know what I'm looking for I understand what he means. The muscles around his abs and back especially don't shift or crease the way muscles are supposed to. His mask as well seems bulkier than it needs to be. Is he padding himself out to look larger? Or is he hiding something underneath the costume?

"Hello, class 1-A," he addresses us. "Welcome to Field Simulations 101. I, Monomyth, shall be your teacher for the year." Clean, simple, precise. For someone as accomplished as he is, Monomyth does not have any of the ego or braggadocio you might expect. Or perhaps it's because he's so accomplished that he is still so down-to-earth. He has nothing to prove. No one is taking away his spot as the number one hero. He has nothing to fear from above or below, so what would it gain him to revel in his power? "I have only two goals. First, heroes can't afford to be in anything less than top physical shape. Now, body types are different and not everyone can be as strong or as fast as anyone else. Everyone will be working at their own pace, being compared only with themselves. But you must always be working to surpass the 'you' of yesterday. You can reach a plateau, but you must eventually move past it. Second, Quirks are a part of those physical capabilities. You must work on not just your muscles, but your Quirks as well. That is why, for this first day, we're going to go down to the field and practice with our Quirks. Show me everything you have. I may have a printout of what your Quirks are registered as, but that doesn't mean the same thing as seeing them in action first-hand."

"Wait," a boy with a bird head says. "There are going to be inter-class competitions, correct? I would prefer to keep some of my powers hidden."

"Ha!" Bakugo mutters. "It's not going to change the outcome."

Monomyth rubs his chin. "Well, he's not wrong, you want to keep some of your cards close to your chest. But the reality is heroes aren't just civil servants, they're media figures as well. In this day and age publicity is what separates the superstars from those merely working for a living. But the more popular you get, the better villains will understand your Quirk. That's why you have to be constantly evolving, always pushing yourself to new heights. The one who keeps their trump card longest is the winner, which is why you must always have another card to play. The biggest difference between a rookie and a pro, is that a rookie is constantly scrambling to stay one step ahead of the situation; a pro knows what he can do, has a plan, and executes it precisely." This adage is good advice, but I can't help but feel it's strange coming from Monomyth. The reason he's number one, what makes him unbeatable, is that he seems to have every Quirk, all of them. Whenever someone thinks they have a handle on his power, he busts out some new Quirk he had never shown before. Always evolving, infinitely adaptable, the hero with a thousand faces who is always, _always_ exactly what is needed. That is Monomyth.

"But that's not something you'll have to worry about just yet," he finished. "These days you'll be doing a lot more triage and rescue work than fighting villains. Still, you'll notice this class comes at the end of the day. That is intentional." His smile becomes predatory. "This way, if something happens you won't have to miss out on any of your other classes."

* * *

Once we recover from the chill which goes up our spines, the rest of the class proceeds more normally. We all change into our PE uniforms and head out to the track. He's set up a few obstacles like climbing walls and mud pits, training dummies, a heavy bag, and a pitching machine. True to his word most of the class is spent showing off what we can do. It is only now that I realize I am in a class of monsters. As expected of the top school in the country, not a single power is a dud. The big man who pulled Bakugo off the other kid flattened a concrete wall with almost no effort after eating sugar; that kid created a massive tower of ice which he then melted with a stream of fire. I turn out to be wrong about Shinsou; he's not a buffbot, he's crowd control, armed with a powerful quirk that can hypnotize anyone. Monomyth is impressed by Bakugo's Explosion Quirk; he is less than impressed with mine. I watch him closely, and when I disintegrate a target is the only time during the whole class that he stops smiling. I blink and the smile is back, but I know what I saw.

Monomyth nods and closes his notebook. "I'm going to use the data I collected today to come up with a dedicated training regimen for each of you," he says. "While Quirks can be built up all at once, it's better and safer to work on it a little each day. Focusing on growing your Quirk in particular directions may also allow you to break through and gain new powers; I have some experience with this myself, so rest assured you'll be in good hands. All right, everyone hit the lockers and change back into your normal clothes. You're all dismissed for today and can go home as soon as you're changed. Except fooooooor… you, Shigaraki. Can I speak with you a moment?"

My chest goes tight. Why am I getting singled out by Monomyth? Maybe I was right, and the school figured out I shouldn't be here. I am fully convinced I'm about to get kicked out. I don't let any of my unease show on my face. The blond guy gives me a thumbs-up, offering his silent support. Bakugou is halfway back to the school building already and doesn't look back when my name is called.

Once everyone is a fair distance away he stands in front of me. Even knowing some of the muscles are fake he is still a very large and intimidating man. He flips to a page in his notebook and asks, "Shigaraki… Tomura, here you are. So, how's your family life?"

The tightness in my chest increases. What's he trying to work up to with this small talk? "Fine, I guess."

"Mmhmm. Do you have any siblings?"

"A sister, Masako."

He hums at that. "Have your names… Actually, forget that. What I really want to ask you is, how's your grandmother?"

I suddenly remember that Monomyth is ageless. Timeless. Since his debut he has not aged a day. I wonder if he and grandma used to be close. "She's… she's fine. She and my grandfather are starting to get old, though. They'll probably move in with my folks once I move out. Sorry, I got taken off-guard a little. She's never mentioned you, so I didn't know you'd be asking about her."

His smile widens. "Is that so? Was… is her name 'Nana'?" I shake my head no and he laughs. "Then I must have confused her with someone else. Sorry about that, Shigaraki is a rare name so I figured… well, I guess it doesn't matter. Sorry for the scare, you're dismissed."

I let out a breath. I'm so relieved at avoiding the guillotine blade of expulsion that I don't consider just how strange that conversation was. I run to the locker room only a minute or so behind the other guys. They ask me what happened, I tell them, and only then does it become clear to me how weird it all was. Being reminded of my grandmother would not explain why he stopped smiling at the sight of my Quirk. I don't think much about it, though. Living as long and accomplishing as much as Monomyth has entitles him to a few eccentricities in my mind.

Uraraka is waiting outside the school with a worried look on her face. She brightens when she sees me. "Oh good! I thought the worst when Monomyth pulled you aside. So you're still good?"

"Yeah," I say, continuing to walk. She walks along with me, and I'm about to protest when I remember that we walked part of the way here. Of course we'd be heading in the same direction after school lets out. "He wanted to ask me about my grandmother, but I think he confused me for someone else."

"Weird," she says. She blinks as she stops at a crosswalk to wait for the light and I turn left. She checks the street names and runs over to catch up with me. "Sorry, sorry! This place is so big, it's easy to get lost in."

"Don't worry about it," I say. "I've lived in this city all my life. I can show you where all the good ramen shops and net cafes are."

Uraraka's smile thins out and the blush on her cheeks deepens. Oh, does she think I'm asking her out on a date? I probably could have worded that better. "Actually," she says. "I think it would help more to find the supermarkets and convenience stores." She wrings her hands and looks away. Ashamed?

Then I notice the callouses on her hands, the complete lack of makeup or jewelry, the shoes that look five months old with laces that look seven months old. Of course she would not have the money to eat out, she had told me earlier today she was trying to earn money for her folks. An apartment isn't cheap in this area, and a girl like her would feel awful even causing that much financial distress for her parents. I realize she wants to know where the stores are so she can grab the lunches that get put on sale right before they expire, as that's probably the only food she'll be able to afford. And here I am taunting her by talking about the restaurants I get to go to. I can't even apologize by offering to treat her now, because if I do it will definitely come off as pity. I feel like an asshole.

"It's fine," she says to save me from myself. "I already know where the local ones are anyway. I've got a few errands to run before I go home today, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow!" She parts from me with a wave, and I can only sigh in her wake.

A familiar voice calls out from a nearby bench, "Struck out, huh? You never were popular with girls, Shigaraki-san."

I do a double-take at the voice. "Midoriya?! You, uh… you look like hell." It's true; he's wearing a forest green sweatshirt with the hood up, but I can still see heavy bags under his eyes. His hair looks more tamed than usual, bogged down by built-up oil so it lies flatter against his head. Even his skin looks sallow.

Midoriya scratches his chin and chuckles, embarrassed, but he doesn't offer an explanation for his condition. He doesn't need to. "I never asked you how you did, but I guess I shouldn't have worried. The UA uniform looks good on you," he says. Even though I am expecting and looking for it I can't find a trace of jealously, though he's still being too kind. I hate how the uniform looks on me. A light-gray suit jacket over pale skin with almost-white hair makes me look like a washed-out photograph from the waist up. I'd get mistaken for a ghost if it weren't for the red tie, but the shade of red is just different enough from my eye color to clash.

"I was right on the border of making it or not. They called me in for an interview, I guess that was the tiebreaker."

"So you did get an interview," Midoriya perks up. "I didn't. They never wanted to see me again. I heard there was even some kid who made it into the school even though he didn't destroy a single robot."

"Yeah, I met him. Hitoshi Shinsou, he's a pretty cool guy."

He nods. "Yeah, I see how it is," he says in a way that obscures what he means.

"So what have you been doing? You basically dropped out the last couple weeks, everyone was worried about you."

"Really?" The word drips with doubt. "Did they even notice? Were any of them actually concerned? Were you?"

"I mean, I didn't want you to die or anything," I say lamely. But he's caught me in a lie, we both know it.

He laughs once to himself, but it has an odd tone to it. In anyone else I would call it "resignation" or "cynicism", but those words never applied to Midoriya before and I hesitate to apply them to him now. "I've been doing a little independent research. Hey, have you ever really looked at the worldwide demographics of Quirk users?"

'Demographics'. That's an odd word for a guy just out of middle school to use. "Not really. Why?"

"When Quirks first appeared, only about 10% of people had them. A couple generations later, it was 40%. Now it's almost 90%. Don't you think that's strange?"

I frown. "Should I? I'm not sure I-"

"Think of genetics, those… I forget the name, the squares? We learned about in science class? If neither of the parents have a Quirk, their child is very unlikely to get one. If both parents have Quirks the kid will get one of their parent's Quirks or some combination of both of them. Heh, I guess in rare cases they won't get a Quirk at all, but the chance is so low it's not worth talking about. If only one parent has a Quirk the odds are about fifty-fifty. Are you starting to see it? With those rules the ratio of people with Quirks compared to those without should stay relatively stable. But that's not what happened: instead those with Quirks almost immediately overwhelmed those without. If those with Quirks started off at such a low percentage of the population, how did they become the overwhelming majority after only a few generations? The math doesn't work."

"Are you trying to say it's not genetic? But that makes no sense. If it wasn't genetic, there would be no reason a kid would inherit their parent's Quirk. It would be more random in that case, right? So how…?"

Midoriya breathes a low, breathless laugh. "There have actually been polls done. Did you know how many adults in Japan would break off a marriage engagement with someone they loved, if they learned they were Quirkless? Ninety-nine percent of them would leave their lover on the altar. Tokyo, Kobe, Nagoya, Kyoto, ask all around and you get the same results. There are agencies that research whether someone has a Quirkless person in their family tree, going back generations. They never want for work."

What is he trying to tell me? "You're saying the Quirkless are… what, being discriminated against?"

"Think about it. We live in a society that glorifies heroes. They're more loved and respected than police, firefighters, and doctors combined. They're on our television screens, they're the celebrities in our magazines, they sell products and star in sitcoms and run for office. And if your kids are Quirkless, that whole section of the world is closed off to them. They'll _never_ be a part of it. They'll be doomed to lurk on the outskirts of society and scavenge their way through life, with no hope of relief. What kind of parent would wish that on their child?"

"I don't think it's quite that-"

"Those without Quirks are being erased!" I hear rather than see Midoriya slam a fist on the armrest. "They're left on their own, with no hope and no help! There's lots of people like me, and they're suffocating! They're _dying,_ Shigaraki-san!" He sighs and seems to regain some control of himself. "In only a couple more generations there won't be any of us left."

"Isn't that a good thing? If everyone has a Quirk, then everyone has a shot. There wouldn't be anyone left behind."

Midoriya makes a humming sound. "So you're saying we should simply get exterminated? That we should accept we have no value?"

Damn it, my mouth moved before I had a chance to think about what I was saying. I'm really bad at this. "W-wait, no. That's not what I meant-"

"No, I get what you mean. I wouldn't wish the last twelve years of my life on anyone else, either. It's good if the world changes so that no one else has to live this way. But still… that's not how it's going to play out. If it was just me suffering I could bear it, but there's still millions of Quirkless people who have nothing but heartache in front of them for the rest of their lives. And even if we're gone, what's next? There are lots of people whose Quirks are useless or nearly useless; they'll be the new underclass, they'll get squeezed out, and so and so up the line until only people with the best and most useful Quirks decide everything while everyone else begs for scraps. And every so often, some kid will be born and at the age of four or five they'll learn they're Quirkless and have no future."

I lean back. "So… if you can't just leave it, what then?"

Midoriya stands up and faces me, smiling at me in a way that seems almost condescending. "I'm really glad we had this chat. It helped clear my mind of a lot of things. I think I know what I have to do now." He does not answer my question.

I repeat it anyway: "What are you going to do?"

He shrugs. "I don't know where it will lead, but I'm going to take my place at the starting line. Don't you and Ka-chan get too comfortable; I'll catch up to you before you know it." And with that he sticks his hands in his pockets and walks away, head high and his eyes filled with energy and life.

I tamp the bad feeling in my stomach down. Midoriya got his spark back, wasn't that a good thing? I convince myself I was imagining the glint in his eye or the anger in his voice. It was just Midoriya, facing up to the reality that he could never be a hero but still committed to the ideal of saving people. I can see him turning into an activist, or maybe even a politician. Something where he can fight without putting his body or his life on the line in a one-sided match-up.

I let out a breath I had been holding ever since I heard him crying his eyes out over the phone. I can stop worrying about him. He'll be okay.

* * *

AN: I didn't want the same cliques to form as in canon, replacing Izuku with Shigaraki and everything else staying the same. So most of the class has the same characters, but a few of the dynamics have changed. Did you notice Todoroki doesn't have a scar in this AU? I wonder if Monomyth being at the top instead of All Might has had any effects on Endeavor, and whether those changes are actually for the better. Before anyone asks, yes, "Masako" is indeed the same character manga readers may know as "Hana". For some reason neither she nor 'Tenko' are using their birth names…  
I am taking recommendations for ships, so now's the time to make them. Note that these are "suggestions", not "demands" or "votes". At the end of the day I write what I find interesting, so I won't write a ship if I don't feel any chemistry between them or the pairing simply doesn't appeal to me.


	3. First Exercise

The rest of the week progresses normally. There's a lot of knowledge to absorb and a lot of ground to cover, so we aren't given much rest. I get home and have to force myself to do the homework before passing out. We don't see anyone outside of our classmates and maybe our parents. We learn each others names, at least, but even class B are a bunch of enigmas. Physical training is grueling as well, so by the time Friday comes around we're completely exhausted and thankful for the weekend. Which is when Monomyth drops the big surprise on us.

"I've been lecturing you all week, but it's the last class of the day and the last class before the weekend. So if you get banged up now you have the whole weekend to recover." His smile looks malicious for a second. "It would be a waste not to take advantage of that, right? So, it's time to put some of the things you've been learning to the test."

"Finally!" Bakugo shouts, slamming on his desk with a fist. He's one of the few people who still has enthusiasm. "A live-fire exercise!"

Monomyth nods. "That's exactly right! Today we're going to have a special exercise. I have a pretty good handle on your Quirks now." He pats a ream of paper on his desk. "So, I've organized you into teams which complement each other and set you against teams that would give you trouble. Each round will be a two-on-two game, with the 'villain' team defending an objective, a dangerous bomb, within a building and the 'hero' team attempting to secure the objective before time runs out. Try not to think too hard about whether I placed you in the hero or villain team, I plan on revisiting this exercise with the roles switched at a later date."

"Huh!" Kirishima says. "So it's basically like a game? I'm cool with that!"

"I suppose you can think of it as a game, but during the exercise I want you treat it as real. Points will be deducted by attacking or damaging the objective for either team, as blowing it up would lead to your own and possibly many innocent deaths in reality. Excessive collateral damage will also be worth negative points. At the same time, as far as your fellow students are concerned this is an exercise. I don't mind if you get rough, but if you risk permanent damage or death to your classmates I'm stopping the exercise immediately." I swear he looks directly at me when he says that, but his mask covers his eyes so I can't be sure. "Also, though you should think of this as a chance to demonstrate your skills bear in mind you are still novices. You are going to make mistakes, and a lot of them. This will give me a good baseline for your abilities so we'll be able to track your progress over the course of the semester. So be sure to give it your all." He pauses as he realizes something. "You know, plus ultra." He sounds uncharacteristically awkward, the phrase tacked on with painful artificiality.

Kaminari asks, "So what's to stop us from holding back? You know, leave ourselves some room to 'grow' so we can wreck the curve?"

Monomyth gives us a tiny smirk. "I'll know if you do." His voice has the toll of a funeral bell. Not one of us doubts him. "The location of an exercise is an empty building at Ground Beta. Each group will get their own identical building. The villain team gets 5 minutes to prepare whatever defenses and strategies they can. Afterwards, the hero team will have 15 minutes to secure the objective. If the hero team is able to put their hand on the objective and keep it there for five consecutive seconds, they win. If time runs out, the villains win. Each student will have a roll of capture tape; wrap up an opponent so that they cannot move and they're out. Capture both of your opponents and it's a victory for your side." Sounds pretty simple. Basically the villains are on defense and the heroes on offense. "Yaoyorozu and Tomura, you two are up first as villains. Their opponents will be the hero team of Asui and Tokoyami."

Four heads snap around the room to take in their partner and their opponents. Wait, sorry, three heads: Tokoyami has his eyes closed and his head down, his fingers folded as if he's deep in thought. I look over to Yaoyorozu and lock eyes with her. She's one of the two students who got in on recommendations; to be honest, I'm intimidated. Being paired up with a capable partner means it would only be too clear who the blame would fall on if we lost. Lastly I take in Asui. She doesn't look like much if I'm being honest; with her slouch and her vacant expression it would be easy to dismiss her. But underestimating her could be deadly; no one gets into UA unless they have a pretty solid build to begin with.

* * *

We are given time to change into our hero outfits, created for us by the Support classes based on the specifications we submitted earlier. My costume is gray on off-white. I have a respirator over my nose and mouth as well as a clear visor over my eyes. Both of them form a seal against my skin, protecting my mucous membranes from foreign particles. The gloves are the real magic, though. I asked for something I could remove and replace quickly and they delivered in spades. They stretch over my fingers but have a solid component over the meat of my fingertips. If I flick my fingers the cover flips open and allow me to use my Quirk. If I close my hand like a cat scratch they slip back on. In this way I can go from "safe" to "dangerous" and back again in a fraction of a second. I practice doing this a few times; it will take a while before I can do it as a reflex, but already I like them a lot more than the finger condoms. I make a note to wear them all the time so I can get used to them.

I report to the training ground and meet Asui and Tokoyami, their costumes in green and black respectively. We nod to each other in mutual respect. Yaoyorozu is already waiting at the entrance of the building. I have to make an effort not to look at anything I'm not supposed to, though she does not seem bothered by how skimpy her costume is. The building is a maze of corridors on each of its five floors, with several side rooms and dead ends and only two staircases up for each floor. It's laid out a bit like a dungeon, and I'm already looking forward to when I get to play on the hero side. Our "bomb" is waiting for us in the main room; it's a person-sized cylinder that looks more like a missile than a bomb, and made out of paper so it can be easily transported. The countdown timer for our head start begins as soon as we enter together, a metal shutter slamming down behind us both to keep us in and to keep Asui and Tokoyami from either jumping the gun or listening in while we talk.

I break the ice, all business: "Alright, strategy time. Your Quirk is something like matter creation, right?"

Momo nods. "I can recreate anything, as long as I understand its molecular structure. And you can make things crumble?"

"Decay," I confirm. "So you can make things, and I can destroy them. Pretty easy to see how we complement each other. But how are those two supposed to be our counters?"

"I am… unsure. Tokoyami has Dark Shadow, he can make his shadow longer and corporeal. Tsu's is even stranger."

"Yeah, it was… Frog, right? So she can do anything a frog can do. Big jumps, a long-range tongue, can swim well." I can't imagine how Quirks like those is supposed to be particularly problematic for us, but I don't think Monomyth could make mistakes or oversights like that. It makes me nervous. "Anyway, we should move the bomb to a more defensible location. If Tokoyami's shadow can float, he can use it to fly up and scout through the windows. We'd better put this thing in one of the interior rooms to hide it from them." I bend down to pick up the bomb.

"Wait, isn't that too obvious of a tactic?"

I stop. "What do you mean?"

Momo has one hand in a loose fist and is pressing it to her lips, deep in thought. "You just said a room with windows is vulnerable to spying. Isn't that precisely what they will think? They'll start by searching the interior rooms first, assuming we'll have moved the bomb there to hide it. Worse, we would have to defend against a potential attack on all four sides. On the other hand, if they can't attack from outside the building, putting the bomb along an edge room will give us one less attack angle to worry about."

Ah, I see her point. As expected of a recommendation student. "Then we can force the enemy to come at us from only two angles if we put the bomb in a corner. By reducing their options, we can more easily intercept their attack."

"Yes. My Quirk will allow me to set up defenses anywhere, but it will be more efficient if we can put ourselves in a corner."

I eye the door. "On the other hand, if we board up the windows of a particular room we can set a trap for them. They'll see the window blocked off and think, 'Aha, there must be something they don't want us to see there. That must be where the bomb is.' See if you can make something to cover the windows. It doesn't have to be hard or thick, just something that will block line of sight and be visible from ground level. Meanwhile I'll set a trap in the same room. We'll set it all up on the top floor." Yaoyorozu nods. A few moments later she ejects what looks like a bed sheet out of her back. She also creates a hammer and nails, and we hammer a bedsheet over one of the windows on the top floor. I carefully set up a trap for anyone who tries to barge in; it takes most of our setup time to create this one trap, but if it works it will take out one of our opponents immediately. I also take the time to weaken a few support structures on the stairwells. Momo and I know to tread carefully, but heroes working under a time limit might not. Even if they do, making them waste time can only help us.

"Communication will be the key," Momo tells me. "We have to split up to make sure they do not slip past us, but they can stay together or go separately depending on their strategy. We're on defense, so we must react to their moves. You stay on the top floor and be ready to head off any sneak attacks, I will descend to a lower floor to harass the heroes."

"Sounds good," I say. "We are given five floors to play with, no sense in letting them have the first four for free. If I see one of them coming I'll let you know. You do the same; if they combine their strength against one of us I'm not sure how long we'll be able to hold out, so don't hesitate to call for backup or respond to the same call." She gives me a thumbs-up and turns on her communicator. I do the same. We part ways, her going downstairs while I patrol the topmost level. We receive the signal. Our time to prepare has ended. Now we had to weather the assault.

I go down the hall a ways past our trap room and peek out the window. I am reasonably certain neither Asui nor Tokoyami can attack me from this high but I hide behind the window frame anyway. I can see both of them from here. As soon as they get the signal to move Tokoyami calmly walks through the door and into our spider nest. Asui, though… jumps. She splays out her limbs and belly flops onto the wall, then… starts climbing straight up, toward the trap room. Oh you've got to be kidding me.

"Yaoyorozu, we've got a problem," I hiss into the communicator. "Turns out when Tsu said she can do anything a frog can do, she meant she can do anything _any_ frog can do!"

There is a beat as she considers that statement. "She's climbing up the wall?!"

"She's heading for the decoy room, I'll stop her from getting there!" I did not bother to trap the windowframe because I didn't think they would be able to enter from there; if she looks from outside she'll be able to tell it's a decoy and escape safely. All our planning would go to waste. I have to protect her from that room like it's the real thing!

I run down a flight of stairs and make it to where I believe Tsu will be. I put my ear to the wall to make sure. She's moving at a good clip, about walking speed, but it's making a bunch of noise because she has to hold herself with all four limbs. I flick my fingers, wait for her to be on the exact opposite side, and slap my palms against the wall. The cement turns pale and flakes apart in a couple seconds, so when I kick the wall it crumbles to dust and leaves Tsu grasping at nothing. I smirk as she begins to fall. I expect her to look scared, or at least concerned. Instead I don't even have the chance to taunt her before her tongue shoots out and wraps around my leg. I get dragged off my feet in one tug and her body weight pulls me out through the hole I just made. I grab hold of the ledge, barely keeping my grip as Tsu swings back onto the wall, a bit lower than where she started but perfectly stable.

It's her turn to smirk. "Don't worry Shigaraki! I'll rescue you, ribbit!" She balances herself on the wall and begins unspooling the capture tape. "Hold still…"

"Yaoyorozu," I speak into the communicator. "I could use some help here."

"I was about to ask you for backup!" she whines. "This opponent is… I'm being pushed back!" Great. No cavalry was coming to save me.

… Anything _any_ frog can do, huh? Frogs have to keep their skin moist in order to breathe through it. If they get dried out they could die. I don't think Tsu is like that precisely, but it gives me an idea. I flick my fingers to remove the covers, then dig into the floor like I'm scooping up sand because in a way I am; the floor disintegrates under my hand and I end up with a fistful of fine dust. Asui is almost to me, so I hurl the result in her face. Her large eyes get the brunt of it and squeeze shut. She does not stick around for my follow-up attack; she drops several meters instantly, grabbing onto a windowsill and swinging inside the building. Most people would forget the situation and try to rub it out right in front of the enemy, but Asui is unnaturally calm and moved immediately to protect herself. She knows I can't follow her easily, so she put distance between us. She'll be back once she clears her eyes out. That suits me fine: she's out of the fight for the moment, and hopefully that will be enough to bail Momo out.

I pull myself back into the room and exhale. There's a huge amount of dust in the air from when I destroyed the wall, so much that without the respirator I would be hacking and choking. Even with my visor I'm having trouble seeing through the thick cloud. "Tsu's down but not out," I say into the communicator. "I'm coming by to assist, but it's going to take me a moment. Where are you?"

"Third floor, heading to the fourth, south stairs!" She grunts and finishes, "Hurry!"

I try to remember what the map of this floor looks like. She isn't far in an absolute sense, but I would have to take a sizable detour to get to where she is. Or… I blow a hole in the wall and slither through. It might make things easier for the heroes to get through, but I judge it's more important to get to Yaoyorozu quickly. Monomyth's voice rings in my ear, "That could have been a load-bearing wall, Tomura. Minus points. Watch yourself." I grit my teeth. I can't even see the cameras or anything, how is he watching this? And why would I lose points just for that? I can argue about it later; I hear Yaoyorozu's panting breaths as she runs up the stairs from the third floor. She has a small metal shield strapped around her left wrist that looks dented and worn.

I run over to her. "Yaoyorozu!"

"Shigaraki-san!" she shouts. "Get down!"

I duck just in time as a black tendril snakes out behind her and whips through the space my head recently occupied. Yaoyorozu runs past me and I backpedal. Tokoyami comes up the stairs, walking calmly. Hovering above him is a black shadow with massive arms and a bird-like beak. The shadow roars and lunges for us, and we leap in opposite directions. Perhaps if we approach him from opposite sides… but Tokoyami has already considered that. He quickly steps to the right, toward another hallway and keeping himself closer to Yaoyorozu. His Dark Shadow flies out again and takes another swing with its meaty fists; Yaoyorozu blocks the attack with her shield but ends up skidding backward from the force of the blow. Tokoyami must realize that if she is given enough time to create a weapon he will have a much harder time, so he's doing his best to keep her off-balance. Dark Shadow's power and speed is more than capable of keeping her on the defensive. What a frightful counter.

I realize what his gameplan is. Tokoyami does not look like much but his Quirk is strong enough to keep both of us at bay. While he's keeping us busy Tsu has all the time she needs to search for the bomb. If either of us were stuck dealing with Tokoyami alone he would overwhelm us, and with Tsu's agility it would be no simple task for either of us to lock her down quickly enough to assist the other with Tokoyami. I should not have doubted Monomyth. He really did craft a good team to counter us.

Tokoyami backs himself into the hall and slowly walks backwards, daring us to chase after him. I consider a plan of attack. Both of us are faster than Tokoyami; I do not know how fast Dark Shadow is but I guess its range is no more than three meters. No, he can probably push it further but he can send it out faster than he can reel it back in. If we can get around the shadow he will be helpless. But outmaneuvering him will take time we might not have. Or, I could go for the direct approach. We were supposed to be counters for them as well, right? Perhaps my Quirk can affect Tokoyami's but it's a dangerous gamble. I don't know how his Quirk works. Is this an extension of his body? If I Decay part of it, will it kill or cripple him? Is it formless energy he's emitting, so my Quirk won't work on it at all? Or is it what it appears to be, an entirely separate creature made of shadow? I can't afford to test it beforehand; the shadow is clearly strong enough that if it gets its hands on me and my Quirk doesn't work I'm done for. It's a high risk, high reward strategy. But if you're going to lose anyway that's the time to make a risky play.

I flick my hands and the covers come off my fingers. I charge forward and Dark Shadow comes out to intercept me. Yaoyorozu shouts my name and reaches out to stop me but I'm too fast. Dark Shadow throws a punch with its oversized fist. I catch the fist on my palm and my hand explodes in pain, but I got all five fingers on it. Dark Shadow's arm dissipates like a mist and howls in terror, retreating back to Tokoyami. He's gritting his teeth, but it's the look of a boy pushed into a corner and not of one who just lost a limb.

"Watch yourself, Shigaraki," Monomyth's voice comes in over our communicators. "Dark Shadow can take it, but if your Quirk so much as gives one of your fellow students dandruff I'm stopping the exercise right then and there."

"It's fine," I say. "I'll be careful." I step forward and Tokoyami steps back. He's not willing to throw Dark Shadow back in my face. Perfect; if I tried to block another punch like that I really might break my hand. Tokoyami suddenly turns and breaks into a run, fleeing down the hall. I give chase. He uses Dark Shadow to grab onto the banisters and pull himself up the stairwell, while I'm stuck climbing them the slow way. He beats me to the top floor, making a beeline for the room with the covered windows. "No!" I shout convincingly. He bashes the door straight off its hinges, runs in, and falls straight into the trap.

The floor of the room is heavily 'treated' by my Quirk, held together by surface tension and prayer. It collapses into silt the moment Tokoyami's foot touches it, and without warning he is in freefall. Underneath the floor we set up a net of capture tape; it wraps around him and snaps off the walls to envelop him completely, sticking to his costume and feathers. He hits the floor below with a thud, coughing as debris settles around him. I address Monomyth, "Does this qualify as a capture?"

"Indeed," comes the reply, suitably impressed. "Tokoyami is captured and is eliminated from the exercise."

Tokoyami lays his head down on the floor and tsks at himself. One down, one to go. I turn back and run down the corridors, trying to get back to the true bomb room. I have not seen Asui lately, so the best thing to do would be to secure the room and make sure she hasn't-

"The exercise is over!" Monomyth announces. "The Hero team has secured the objective! Everyone, come back to the command room. Don't forget to cut Tokoyami free on your way back."

I stop. All my adrenaline leaves me. I double over with my hands on my knees and suck down air. It took us too long to subdue Tokoyami. I let Asui move as she pleased without any supervision or interference. She must have found the bomb and gotten it while we were both dealing with Tokoyami. We had won the battle but lost the war.

* * *

Yaoyorozu beats me back to the observation room. When I arrive she has her head down and her eyes closed. "I'm sorry. She was too fast. It seems the traps weren't enough to stop her."

I pull my respirator off my face and take big gulps of air. My throat is dry and raspy, the skin around my knuckles is cracked and bleeding. I've been overusing my Quirk. Ashido offers me a water bottle but pulls it back when I reach for it. "That was a real dirty trick you pulled!" she scolds me. "Throwing sand in a girl's face, what kind of hero fights so cheap!"

"I… was roleplaying… a villain," I rasp out. "Villains… won't fight fair." Ashido still looks upset but she hands the water over. I drain the whole thing in one long gulp, leaving a spot of blood along the lip. Ah geez, my lips got so dry they split open again.

"That is true," Monomyth acknowledges my defense. "Villains will often not follow the rules you are bound by, and you have to be ready for underhanded tactics. Still, that doesn't give you the right to use them back. Remember that you're here to be heroes, and that means you should act like heroes until it becomes second nature. Minus points, Tomura." Guh, I can't catch a break…

Monomyth continued, "As far as detailed analysis, I see a lot of potential and some room for improvement for both teams. Though this time the hero team won, it very easily could have gone the other way. Both teams executed their plans well and stayed in good communication with each other. That's important! The key to doing well in this exercise is teamwork; you have to be able to work with your partners and complement them in order to be a good hero. Fame and glory is all well and good, but never forget success is what matters out in the field. Never betray your teammates in order to boost yourself. Remember that above all else."

He sings such a different tune from a lot of the other instructors… they're always going on about how we have to present a good public image, how to respond to reporters, how to walk the line between humble-bragging and self-aggrandizement. But Monomyth only cares about results. Saving people. Preventing harm. Honestly, he's what all true heroes should aspire to; leaving behind the race for ratings and public opinion, and just doing what he can to make the world better. This is the sort of thing that's easy for him to say because his position at the top is secured. It's a world different from the one we'll be living in, where we will only have the prestige we earn for ourselves.

Monomyth continues with his analysis: "As far as group effort goes, both teams did extremely well. You supported each other, you kept in communication, and developed and executed your plans together. That's a harder thing than it sounds in the middle of a tense situation! You will have to find what works for yourselves, obviously, but I personally would have preferred it if you kept your teammates up to date on your exact struggle. Some of you only said, 'I'm in trouble', which did not give your teammate enough data to determine how badly you were off and what kind of assistance would be needed. Keeping a cool head even in the midst of a dangerous situation needs to be second nature to heroes. As far as personal comments go…

"Yaoyorozu, I can tell your Quirk would be nothing if you did not understand the structure of everything you create. In the hands of almost anyone else it would not be half as useful as it is. I'm sensing some hesitation, though. It doesn't feel like fear, more like… indecision. It takes you too much time to decide on a course of action and you get caught up in your opponent's flow too easily. I believe with proper application of your Quirk you could have easily bested Tokoyami, but your Quirk gives you so many options for how to proceed it's difficult for you to pick one. It's called 'analysis paralysis', and it comes from not understanding the relative costs and benefits of different strategies. Ah, don't despair. As you get more experience you'll develop a sense for this sort of thing. Just keep it in mind and you will overcome this. After all, that's why you're here, yes? I suggest taking the time to craft a short list of objects you can make on short notice. Rather than expanding your repertoire to make the perfect counter, try to use only these objects to their best effect. Master them before adding new things to make. It will improve your reaction time and make you more adaptable."

Momo bows deeply. "Your advice is welcome, and sound. Thank you for your instruction."

"Asui. I was very impressed with you. I believe you did the best out of anyone in this exercise. You're a quick thinker and operate well under pressure. You can calmly assess the situation even in the worst circumstances and can adapt to changing environments. If I had to make a criticism… hm. After getting dust thrown in your eyes you broke off to recover your sight. It would have been nice if you were confident enough in your close-combat skill to complete the capture even in that situation. That being said it was probably the correct move given your current abilities, so don't get discouraged." Tsu makes a little ribbit sound in appreciation for being named MVP.

"Tokoyami, I was impressed you managed to hold off both villains at once as long as you did. Ultimately that's what allowed Asui to complete the objective. I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but you got a little reckless at the end; when invading a villain's lair you have to keep your wits about you. Danger can come from any place and any angle. It's important to know when to push your luck and when to hang back. You have a good handle not just on your Quirk's strengths but also its weaknesses. To improve as a hero you'll need to keep both of those in mind.

"Finally, Tomura. I admit, I had my doubts about you. Your Quirk is a bit on the dangerous side. I thought you might have slacked off or have been afraid of your Quirk. But you showed a remarkable amount of ingenuity, using it in and out of direct combat to shift the battle in your favor. Not all of my fears were assuaged; your reflexes show you're too used to having your finger coverings. It's going to take a lot of work to retrain your body so you don't reflexively grab things with all five fingers. Practice with those gloves. The sooner they become second nature the better it will be for everyone.

"Thank you for going first," he says. "You'll receive a grade bump to keep you competitive with the teams that get to go after you. The rest of you have a better idea what to do and what I'm looking for, so I'll be even harsher on you. Let's see, for our second groups… I have Todoroki and Uraraka as heroes versus Ashido and Kirishima. Get to your building and hustle!"

* * *

Watching the other teams is a different experience than being there myself. The observation room has an array of monitors so we can see every angle of every floor of the building and catch all of the action. It's not perfect; there's no sound, so we can't tell what anyone is saying and it takes a bit of the impact out of watching.

At the very start Todoroki activates his flames and Uraraka jumps directly above them. She spreads out her arms and legs like a skydiver, but instead of falling into the flames she goes up, up, up! In only a moment she reaches the top floor and slips in through a window. She gets into trouble up there almost immediately; Ashido stole my idea and used her acid to riddle the floor in traps and weak spots a careless person could fall straight through. Meanwhile Kirishima goes to attack Todoroki directly. As soon as they spot each other Todoroki simply waves his right hand. In the blink of an eye the entire hallway is a solid block of ice from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. There's no sound coming through the video feeds, so there's nothing to block the amazed and horrified gasps as we watch how Todoroki 'fights'. On the screen Todoroki exhales, a small white puff coming out of his mouth.

"What the hell." Bakugo steps backward from the screen, his face pale. I've never seen this before. It was only there for a moment, but I saw it as clear as day. His sneer was completely gone, replaced by a nervous bite of his lower lip. He's afraid. I had always thought Bakugo was incapable of fear, but here it is. He saw Todoroki's Quirk and thought, 'I can't beat that'. The big fish in the small pond has entered the ocean and does not like what it sees.

"Teacher!" Iida shouts, waving his arms wildly. "You must end the exercise! Kirishima can't breathe in there, he'll-"

Monomyth held up a hand. "This is ideal, actually. I've been wondering how Todoroki acts when things don't go his way."

As we're watching the ice starts to crack and splinter. Todoroki's eyes go wide as Kirishima, his skin turned jagged and rock hard, punches out through the ice. Todoroki thrusts his left hand forward and hurls a gout of fire; Kirishima holds out his arms and tanks the blow, slamming into Todoroki and knocking him to the ground. Kirishima lands and runs forward, eager to finish Todoroki off before the red-and-white haired boy can recover. From his spot on the ground Todoroki shoots fire again, but this time the raging flames narrow into a thin line. The laser melts through the ceiling on contact. He swings down his hand and the laser slices into Kirishima's shoulder-

"Stop!" Monomyth calls out. "Todoroki, what do you think you're doing?!"

The two combatants stop. Kirishima is holding his shoulder and wincing; tears are in his eyes but he's somehow keeping himself from screaming. Todoroki is breathing heavily and looks horrified by what he's done, by what he was a fraction of a second away from doing. "I… I…" he stammers over the communicators.

Monomyth doesn't wait for him. "Todoroki is disqualified and must return to the briefing room immediately. Kirishima is wounded and will be taken to the nurse immediately. Ashido, Uraraka, I leave the question to you. Are you able to continue with the exercise? Saying 'no' will not be held against you."

The two girls think for a moment, the worry clear on their faces. They have not started fighting yet, but Ashido is lying in wait to ambush Uraraka as soon as she turns the corner. Things were right about to start for them. At the same time, would they be able to give it their all knowing one of their classmates had been injured? Uraraka gets a determined scowl, looks directly at a camera, and nods. Ashido slaps her cheeks twice then gives a thumbs up.

"Very well," Monomyth says. "Continue!"

A moment later the two girls are battling it out, Uraraka desperately trying to keep away from Ashido while avoiding the weakened spots on the floor. Meanwhile Ashido was chasing her down, hoping to use her superior athleticism to get her in a grapple and keep her there. We try to be excited for the match but none of us are feeling it. Todoroki enters the observation room and makes a beeline for the seats, sitting down with a heavy thump. He's grinding his teeth together and won't lift up his head.

When I look back to the fight between the girls it's taken a turn; Ashido had finally grabbed Uraraka but not before the bubbly girl clapped a hand on her. Both of them are spinning wildly in a tight ball, bouncing off the walls in zero-gravity while they wrestled for control. The twirling, the accelerating speed at which they are careening around the room, and the limits of her own Quirk are finally too much for Uraraka. Her eyes widen, her cheeks bulge, and Ashido's mouth opens in a scream before Monomyth mercifully turns the camera feed off.

"Uraraka is no longer able to fight," he murmurs. "The villain team is the winner. Both of you, er, get cleaned up and return to the observation room."

We get a better look at Kirishima when the robots haul him away on a stretcher and pass by. His forearms are red and peeling where the flames struck them, but honestly it doesn't look much worse than a sunburn. The real problem is his shoulder. Kirishima's armored skin has a deep, blackened gash in it where his shoulder was hit. The cut looks deep but is not bleeding, the heat causing the wound to cauterize instantly. He seems more embarrassed than hurt, but part of that is trying to look tough. In just a moment he's out of sight. We have a very talented nurse on hand so I'm sure he'll be okay.

Monomyth steps in front of Todoroki. "Todoroki, we might as well get your evaluation out of the way. You're very clever with your Quirk; letting Uraraka ride the air currents would not have been possible if you did not have an innate understanding of how heat and cold operate. A lot of people with your Quirk would stop at the direct applications, but you've thought a little further ahead. But…" He sighs. "It's clear what happened back there; your opponent did something you did not expect and you panicked. There's no shame in it, but it's something you're going to have to get a handle on. A good hero can't maim or kill every villain he fights. When you have a dangerous Quirk knowing how to hold back is just as important as knowing how to use it to its full potential. Perhaps it was too soon for an exercise like this… well. Don't worry about it; I'll assume full responsibility for what happened this time. Learn from this experience so you don't repeat it."

Todoroki sits with his head down and his hands clasped, slouched over with a towel over his head. It is not clear whether he heard a word of what Monomyth said. The Eternal Hero sighs and walks away, preparing his remarks for when Ashido and Uraraka arrive.

I think I might be the only person here who understands how Todoroki feels. I want to put an arm around him but I'm not sure that would be appreciated. Instead I say, "Quirks are dangerous, some more than others. Kirishima will be okay, he's young and he's tough. That's why we're here, right? To get all our mistakes out of our system." I stop. I sound too much like a platitude. I'm not some generic NPC, damn it. "Hey," I start again. "I won't lie, you're gonna feel like shit for a while. You might feel like you're a scumbag, an awful person, that your Quirk shouldn't be allowed to exist. And that feeling… it's not ever going to go away, not completely. But there's a lot of good left for you to do, if you can recover from this. And if you ever need to talk to anyone let me know. I'm better at listening than talking, anyway."

Todoroki glares at me. "What made you think I wanted to hear your babbling?" he snarls. "I'm a recommendation student, the son of Endeavor. We live in completely different worlds. I came here to be taught by Monomyth, there's nothing someone like you can offer me. Stay out of my way." He jumps to his feet with a huff and leaves the observation booth.

I stand up to chase after him but a hand with a giant green grenade on the back of it claps onto my shoulder. "Leave him alone," Bakugo says. He's frowning but at least he doesn't have that contemptuous sneer on his face. "You ain't a comforting shoulder to cry on no matter how much you wanna be. If that half-'n'-half bastard wants to wallow on his own, let 'im." I want to argue with him, I'm seriously pissed after getting brushed off like that, but I know Bakugo's right. If anyone can understand an asshole it's another asshole. Todoroki's pride took a major hit, and me taking pity on him probably pissed him off even worse. I nod and sit back down. Normally Bakugo would gloat about putting someone in their place but he seems distant, pensive. I wonder if he's just used to me doing what he says or…

Whatever. If I think too hard about it right now I'm going to start getting that itchy feeling in my skin and that's the last thing I need right now. I flip the covers on my glove open and closed, open and closed, over and over again as a calming ritual. It doesn't really work, but at least I'm burning the motions into my body. That can only help in the long run.

—

Not much later it was time for the last team. Monomyth announced, "I've got a hero team of… Katsuki and Hagakure, versus a villain team of Jiro and Shinso. You know the drill by now, make your way to the marked building and we'll start the prep timer once all of you are in position. Let's finish this off with a strong display!"

Jiro winces and buries her face in her hands. Shinso grimaces and a shadow falls over his face; did he want to get put on a hero team? Toru… it's hard to see what she's doing, but she's wringing her hands nervously. Or maybe excitedly? It's Bakugo that acts most strangely. Instead of enthusiastic, he seems almost pensive. "Hey, teacher," he asks. "I wanna bring something else in, not a part of my standard costume. Is that allowed?"

Monomyth cups his chin in his hand. "Hmmm, I guess it would depend on what it was. I'm not about to let you acquisition new support gear, if that's what you're asking. But if it's something like an ordinary pen, business cards, or something else you might conceivably be carrying normally I don't see the harm." The Eternal Hero bends down so Bakugo can whisper something in his ear; what Monomyth hears causes his grin to break out. "I'll allow it! If only so I can see what you have planned. Just remember, the rules against destruction of property still apply. If you have one of those on you, Katsuki, feel free to bring it. If not you can have Momo make one for you." Bakugo nods and quietly speaks to Momo. She seems confused, but dutifully creates something and hands it over. I don't see what it is; it's small enough to hide in their hands without any part of it being seen.

The four students then file out one after another in silence. The mood in the observation chamber seems weird as well. I had to admit, I thought if anyone was going to go overboard and injure someone it was going to be Bakugo. Todoroki went and did it for him, so now everyone must be wondering whether Bakugo is going to chill out or if he's going to go for a repeat performance. I sidle over to Yaoyorozu. "Hey," I ask. "What was it he asked you to make for him?"

She answers, "A book of matches."

I blink. "Matches? The kind to light fires?"

She nods, but it's clear from her expression she does not have any more idea what he's going to do with those than I do. Matches, huh? Why did he need those so desperately…?

Whatever his plan is, it does not involve Hagakure at all. The hero team does not discuss anything so far as I can tell. Bakugo simply waits for the timer to elapse with his arms crossed. Toru waves her hands a bit like she's trying to speak with him but he's a brick wall and does not respond. Eventually Toru gives up. Ah, Bakugo is just as good at teamwork as he ever was. Are those two going to be okay? The other villain teams put the bomb on the top floor; Jiro and Shinso elect to put it on the fourth floor, maybe reasoning their opponents would make a beeline there and waste time searching. With Hagakure on the Hero team someone's going to have to babysit the bomb the whole time, as it's far too simple for her to slip past a defender and secure the bomb before anyone knows it's in danger. So Jiro stays with it, while Shinso parks himself on the second floor, apparently as the vanguard. They seem to have a plan, but whether it will survive contact with the enemy is an open question.

The exercise begins and the gate opens. Toru immediately pulls off her gloves and slips out of her boots. I can't see her at all, which sort of limits how exciting this will be to watch. Bakugo, however, not only takes off his left glove but also the grenade-shaped device on his left wrist. Even I can't imagine why, but he's acting with deliberate purpose so I assume he's up to something. The moment he walks in the door Bakugo wordlessly puts his left hand up into the air and starts firing off explosions. Is he trying to draw attention away from Hagakure? No, I realize as my attention whips back to the fourth floor. Jiro had stuck her earphone jacks into the floor, but recoiled when Bakugo started setting off explosions. She winces and covers her ears. Ah, I have a bit of an idea how the teams counter each other now. Hagakure is a counter to just about anyone; as a Hero she can slip past any defenses and avoid confrontation with any opponent. No matter how strong you are you can't win if your enemy doesn't let you fight. Jiro is her counter; by using her earphone jacks to plug into the wall,she can track Hagakure's movement by the sound of her footsteps. In that case, Bakugo is Jiro's counter; by making loud sounds he's able to prevent Jiro from listening in. Hagakure becomes invisible once more. There's a chorus of "oh"s and "ah"s as the rest of my classmates lag behind me by a few seconds in the same realization.

"Damn," Kaminari says. "Bakugo and Hagakure make a pretty good team! I'm amazed they came up with that idea!"

"Not that amazing," I mumble. "Back in middle school Bakugo's grades were at the top of the class. I know he doesn't look or act like it, but he's smart. Underestimate him and you'll suffer for it."

Ojiro pipes up, "So, if Jiro is Hagakure's nemesis, and Bakugo is Jiro's… wouldn't that make Shinso the counter for Bakugo?"

"Kinda hard to see how," Sato says, scratching his head. "There's no way Shinso could win a fight againt Bakugo… ah! But that's if they even get to fight at all!"

"Exactly," I murmur as I watch Shinso follow the sound of explosions to where Bakugo is. "The only question is whether Bakugo has figured out how Shinso Brainwash Quirk works." Shinso's physical aptitudes are some of the worst in the class, even most of the girls are more athletic than he is. Between him and Bakugo there's no contest; even without his Quirk Bakugo would mangle him. But the control Shinso has over those he has with his Quirk is absolute; Bakugo would lose without getting a chance to fight. If Shinso can nab Bakugo with his Quirk he wins. If he can't Bakugo wins. It's a contest that will be decided in seconds.

While we're discussing it, Bakugo and Shinso find each other. The two combatants stare each other down. The fingers on Bakugo's left hand twitch nervously. He takes a few steps forward, his right hand crackling with small explosions in preparation for something big. Shinso has his neck craned upward, looking down his nose at Bakugo. For his part Bakugo steps forward at a measured pace. That's odd: the way I know him, Bakugo would rush forward and attempt to clobber him right away. If he doesn't know how Shinso's Quirk works his best strategy is to defeat him before he has a chance to use it. But it's too late: Bakugo screams something, then his face goes slack. He slows to a stop and stares straight ahead. Damn! Even Bakugo can't fight against that Quirk. Shinso appears very smug. He begins lazily unspooling his roll of capture tape while the rest of the students groan. They knew it was going to be an anti-climax either way, but even they're disappointed that Bakugo didn't put up a fight.

Just as Shinso is in front of Bakugo, a massive explosion rocks the building. Bakugo's left hand, the one without the grenade wristband, ignites and blows them both away. Shinso gets flung into the far wall and slumps against it, clearly shocked. Bakugo, however, recovers quickly and goes for the kill. He's rushes in, free of the brainwashing and screaming in triumph. Shinso puts up his hands to defend himself but it's no use; Bakugo's attack is relentless, a two-fisted assault that sends Shinso's smoking body flying. Bakugo winds up for the finishing blow… then stops. Again his face loses all expression. Shinso is panting on the ground, possibly he doesn't even have the energy to stand, but he maintains his hold on Bakugo's mind. He does not dare approach him; if Bakugo does another explosion like that he knows it's over for him.

"Aha, I see now why he wanted that item," Monomyth says finally. "Bakugo produces a nitroglycerine-like substance from the sweat on his palms. So he held a lit match in between his fingertips; if he fell victim to Shinso's Quirk the match would burn down and ignite his sweat, and the shock from the explosion would allow him to break free. Most ingenious." The rest of the class is shocked at how clever Bakugo is and how quickly Monomyth figured out the trick he used. I can tell Monomyth's estimation of him has improved. Damn! I was sorta hoping Bakugo would learn a little humility, but it's not just his Quirk that's good; Bakugo knows how to use it to the fullest.

Shinso apparently is able to tell Jiro that Bakugo has been neutralized; she plugs her jacks into the floor and listens. She stays absolutely still for several seconds and everyone in the room holds their breath. Nobody moves. Nothing moves.

Suddenly Jiro whips around and sends her ear wires flying toward the bomb! They wrap around something invisible near the bomb, Hagakure's wrist, but she's a fraction of a second too late. The sound of the buzzer startles all of us. Monomyth announces, "The Hero Team has captured the objective and has won!"

Oh, of course. While Bakugo was making such a racket there was no need for Hagakure to be quiet. She must have run all around to find the bomb then sneaked into the room while Jiro was still deafened. As expected of a stealth heroine, her goal is to get into position before the enemy even knows they're in danger. Her combat ability is sub-par so I originally dismissed her, but that may have been a big mistake. I'll have to keep an eye on her.

—

I pat Bakugo on the back after Monomyth dismisses us all. "Nice play, Bakugo." He quietly "hmpf"s but doesn't verbally respond. Even his face looks sour even though he won. What's eating him?

I am unable to think further about this when Monomyth calls out, "Actually, can I ask you to stay behind for a moment, Tomura?"

Oh man, again? I was looking forward to going home after checking on Kirishima with the others. Maybe this meeting with Monomyth will be just as fast as the last one. I'm not nervous about being expelled anymore, but the fear is still there at the back of my mind. Maybe this will be just as fast. Everyone else is quick to leave, so within only moments the two of us are alone. "Why do you need to talk to me?" I ask.

"Because I told you not to worry about your career and you think I'm full of shit."

My mouth thins into a line. He saw right through me. Now I'm definitely toast. "Uh… I…"

He slaps me on the back and chuckles. "It's all right. I know my advice seems naive at best. But I still earnestly believe in it. And if you think about it, I may be the only teacher here you can fully trust throughout your schooling. Why do you think that is?"

I think for a moment. I'm not sure this is the best way to put it but I give my answer anyway: "Because you're the best, the strongest. Someday even the teachers at this school may be our rivals; we may not be able to come to them with everything, knowing what we say could be used against us later. But you're the only one with nothing to fear, so you have no ulterior motives."

Monomyth smiles. "Yes. To put it another way, I can only talk the way I do because I'm the number one hero. There's no cost for me to give up the chance for fame, glory, or exposure. I know the ideals I uphold aren't realistic. They're something to aspire to, but in this cruel and unforgiving world it's impossible to live up to them all the time. There are many people who, given ultimate power, would abuse it to the greatest extent they can. I won't say I'm perfect, or that I haven't done bad things, or never abused my powers. But I have… well, it's too informal to be called a 'code', but I suppose you can call it a 'motto'. It's something that guides my path, something that makes sure I never lose sight of what my Quirk is for." He stands tall and intones, "'The most important thing you can do with power is give it away.'"

I blink. "I… think I understand. That's the dream of being a hero, right? More than the fame, more than the adventure. It's being strong enough to give, without having to take."

He chuckles softly. "That's exactly right. Plus points, Tomura."

I stare at him. "Why tell me this in private, after class is over? Why not tell this to all the students?"

"… If I said I like you better than your classmates, would you believe it?"

My heart swells. My face is on fire. I was a teacher's favorite? And not just any teacher, but the Eternal Hero himself? Part of me doesn't believe it. It's too good to be true. My expectations come crashing down as I remember how he's been acting. "You've been riding my ass all day. If you like me so much, what's that about?"

"I hold the people I respect to higher standards," he says with a grin. "It's too late to back out now, Tomura. Do your best to live up to my expectations."

Yeah, sure, no pressure. I let out a sigh. And I thought three years at UA was going to be stressful before…

—

Midoriya walks down the street, an old hoodie in Monomyth's colors of white, blue, and gold over his head. His hands are in his pockets and he stares at a place about two feet in front of him as he walks. Nobody takes any notice of him, the crowd parting around him unconsciously. His sneakers scuffle along the sidewalk in a steady unchanging rhythm. At a certain point he turns towards a dilapidated building, the site of a dive bar at night but nothing at all during the day. He pushes open the unlocked door and steps inside.

The scent of desperation and cheap booze fills the air here. There are a number of tables and chairs along the left side, cleaned and ready for the limited clientele expected that evening. The bar itself is clean as well, save for the glass of the man sitting at it. He is a thin, emaciated man with blond hair. His t-shirt hangs off his bones and his cheeks are sunken in. He does not look at Midoriya as he comes in but the momentary rise of his shoulders reveals he knew of his presence. Midoriya takes the seat next to the man and folds his arms on the countertop. "It went just as you said," Midoriya says into the bar. "I couldn't get into UA."

"It's not your fault," the man says. His voice is heavy and exhausted, like it is an effort to force out each syllable. "The game was rigged against you from the start. Even if you had found the off switches on those robots, you would have found they would not work for you. Even if you had destroyed one or two of them it would have made no difference. You would never have been considered for Rescue Points, which only exist to begin with to push those with useful Quirks over the finish line. Hero Society… no, Monomyth himself, has no use for heroes with no powers."

"That's not all," Midoriya adds. "I looked into a few things on my own. It's more than just Monomyth; most of society looks down on the Quirkless."

"Is that so?" The man is curious but unsurprised. "He has had a very long time to alter the world to suit his wishes. He's done a lot openly, becoming a symbol of heroism and an ideal to strive for, and so making his own qualities desirable. But he's done just as much quietly, invisibly, through back room deals, education, press releases, tax rates. There is not a single aspect of society he does not have a hand in, and so any defect of society is part of his grand plan."

"B-but, there must be something we can do. If more people knew about this, if we were able to get our message out, then-"

"There is not," the man sighs. "Monomyth stifles all innovation, strangles all change. No matter how loud you shout he will make sure you are drowned out. As long as he exists there is no hope for the future."

"Then we have to get rid of him!" Midoriya himself is surprised by his outburst and begins waving his hands defensively, stammering, "Ah, no, that's, not actually…"

The man holds up a hand to cut him off. "No, you were right the first time. _Defeating_ Monomyth will change nothing. He is not an opponent you can fight if there is any doubt in your heart. If you hold back against him you will die. Your goal can't be to merely defeat him." He holds up one finger and the barman brings him a new glass. The barman appears to be humanoid but with a dark, hazy shape which makes it difficult to pinpoint what he actually looks like. He has no mouth but sharp yellow eyes, and wears a snappy outfit even though he looks only vaguely human. The barman tosses a few ice cubes in the glass and fills it with water. Then he gives the thin man a needle and walks away to the other end of the bar so they can continue their conversation in peace. The thin man sticks his finger with the needle and allows a single drop of his blood to fall in the glass, mixing invisibly into the water. Then he pushes the glass toward Midoriya. "Drink this. Ingesting part of my DNA will allow me to pass my Quirk on to you. You'll gain a Quirk of your own, an incredible power that might be the strongest Quirk on earth. It's a power passed down from generation to generation in the hope that the future can be changed. But you will become an enemy of the entire world. There is not a single hero that will not wish to destroy you, least of all Monomyth himself. Young Midoriya, I am asking this because I believe you will be the one to make our dreams come true. You will be the one to overthrow the tyrant and return peace and equality to Japan. No… to the world."

Midoriya regards the glass suspiciously. "Wha-What is it?"

"My predecessor referred to it with some fancy name Monomyth picked out. I never bothered remembering it. As far as I'm concerned, there's only one name for it." The man smiles widely. "It's the Quirk that's going to let you kill Monomyth."

Midoriya stares into the glass. He takes a deep breath, screws up his courage, and downs the water in the glass in a single gulp.


End file.
